Mel Brooks’s Young Frankenstein, co-written with Gene Wilder (seen here with Marty Feldman and Teri Garr) inspired Tony McNamara’s screenplay adaptation of Alasdair Gray’s novel for Yorgos Lanthimos’s Poor Things (Oscar wins for Emma Stone and costume designer Holly Waddington).
By using well-chosen excerpts from the audiobook of Gene Wilder’s autobiography, Kiss Me Like A Stranger, Ron Frank lets Wilder himself guide us through the documentary, by positioning him in dialogue with many friends and colleagues assembled here, most prominently Mel Brooks, who directed Wilder in a number of groundbreaking movies. We find out how the two met, because Anne Bancroft, starring at the time on stage in Bertolt Brecht’s Mother Courage (with Wilder as the Chaplain), was dating Brooks, who was looking for an actor to play Leo Bloom in what was to become The Producers. The two men clicked, as they both recall,...
By using well-chosen excerpts from the audiobook of Gene Wilder’s autobiography, Kiss Me Like A Stranger, Ron Frank lets Wilder himself guide us through the documentary, by positioning him in dialogue with many friends and colleagues assembled here, most prominently Mel Brooks, who directed Wilder in a number of groundbreaking movies. We find out how the two met, because Anne Bancroft, starring at the time on stage in Bertolt Brecht’s Mother Courage (with Wilder as the Chaplain), was dating Brooks, who was looking for an actor to play Leo Bloom in what was to become The Producers. The two men clicked, as they both recall,...
- 3/21/2024
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
This is Day 143 of the WGA strike and Day 70 of the SAG-AFTRA strike.
Writers picketing ABC’s The View on Thursday in New York City reacted guardedly to news that negotiations between their striking union and the production studios were continuing for a second consecutive day this week.
They cited an earlier effort at restarting contract talks that quickly broke off and led to more public sparring between the Writers Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
“You can’t ever guess too much because every time it seems like the tone is different, it’s like, ‘all right, nothing happened,’” writer, actor and comedian Larry Wilmore told Deadline outside the ABC television studio complex in Manhattan where The View has continued production despite the guild designating the daytime talk mainstay as a struck show.
Rumors were circulating Wednesday night that the strike could be over as soon as today,...
Writers picketing ABC’s The View on Thursday in New York City reacted guardedly to news that negotiations between their striking union and the production studios were continuing for a second consecutive day this week.
They cited an earlier effort at restarting contract talks that quickly broke off and led to more public sparring between the Writers Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
“You can’t ever guess too much because every time it seems like the tone is different, it’s like, ‘all right, nothing happened,’” writer, actor and comedian Larry Wilmore told Deadline outside the ABC television studio complex in Manhattan where The View has continued production despite the guild designating the daytime talk mainstay as a struck show.
Rumors were circulating Wednesday night that the strike could be over as soon as today,...
- 9/21/2023
- by Erik Pedersen and Sean Piccoli
- Deadline Film + TV
Toronto’s favorite son turns his eye toward New York, and back to 1975 for his next project. Jason Reitman is currently producing the next “Ghostbusters” picture with director and co-writer Gil Kenan and leads Paul Rudd and Carrie Coon, but he’s got his next project lined up at Sony Pictures.
As per Deadline, the “Juno” and “Up in the Air” director will be back behind the camera for an untitled “Saturday Night Live” opening night project. Kenan will co-write the script.
Casting has not been announced, but somebody out there is (probably) going to be playing producer Lorne Michaels and first-episode cast members like Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, and Garrett Morris. Also, potentially, writers like Michael O’Donoghue, Al Franken, Anne Beatts, Alan Zweibel, and others. The first guest on “SNL” was George Carlin so maybe someone will be doing an impression of the comedian during his “Toledo Window Box” era,...
As per Deadline, the “Juno” and “Up in the Air” director will be back behind the camera for an untitled “Saturday Night Live” opening night project. Kenan will co-write the script.
Casting has not been announced, but somebody out there is (probably) going to be playing producer Lorne Michaels and first-episode cast members like Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, and Garrett Morris. Also, potentially, writers like Michael O’Donoghue, Al Franken, Anne Beatts, Alan Zweibel, and others. The first guest on “SNL” was George Carlin so maybe someone will be doing an impression of the comedian during his “Toledo Window Box” era,...
- 5/2/2023
- by Jordan Hoffman
- Gold Derby
For a live television show that is assembled on the fly over a six-day period, "Saturday Night Live" has suffered remarkably few on-air disasters. The f-bomb has been uttered more than a few times, Jimmy Fallon used to co-host the Weekend Update, and there was the whole Ashlee Simpson lip synching snafu. But SNL, overall, goes on as it must.
This doesn't mean every episode has been a party. If you've read Doug Hill and Jeff Weingrad's "Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live" or Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller's "Live from New York: The Complete, Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live as Told by Its Stars, Writers and Guests," you know there've been behind-the-scenes scraps, scrapes, and scenic malfunctions. Worst of all, there have been multiple lousy guest hosts: stars who didn't get the show or bristled against its collaborative nature. Madonna, Steven Seagal,...
This doesn't mean every episode has been a party. If you've read Doug Hill and Jeff Weingrad's "Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live" or Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller's "Live from New York: The Complete, Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live as Told by Its Stars, Writers and Guests," you know there've been behind-the-scenes scraps, scrapes, and scenic malfunctions. Worst of all, there have been multiple lousy guest hosts: stars who didn't get the show or bristled against its collaborative nature. Madonna, Steven Seagal,...
- 3/25/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Rick Newman, the founder of New York City’s hugely influential Catch a Rising Star comedy club that provided a training ground for the stand-up comics who would change the landscape of entertainment in the 1970s, died Feb. 20 at his home in Los Angeles. He was 81.
His wife Krysi Newman told The Washington Post that he died of pancreatic cancer.
Among the comics who began or developed their careers on the Rising Star’s Upper East Side stage are Jerry Seineld, Billy Crystal, Robin Williams, Richard Lewis, Andy Kaufman, Freddie Prinze, Robert Klein, Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler. Larry David, Elayne Boosler, Rodney Dangerfield, Jay Leno, Joy Behar and Ray Romano.
One of the performers most associated with Catch a Rising Star was Richard Belzer, the longtime host of the club who died Feb. 19, just a day before Newman.
Newman, tweeted Billy Crystal, “gave me and so many our starts as stand ups.
His wife Krysi Newman told The Washington Post that he died of pancreatic cancer.
Among the comics who began or developed their careers on the Rising Star’s Upper East Side stage are Jerry Seineld, Billy Crystal, Robin Williams, Richard Lewis, Andy Kaufman, Freddie Prinze, Robert Klein, Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler. Larry David, Elayne Boosler, Rodney Dangerfield, Jay Leno, Joy Behar and Ray Romano.
One of the performers most associated with Catch a Rising Star was Richard Belzer, the longtime host of the club who died Feb. 19, just a day before Newman.
Newman, tweeted Billy Crystal, “gave me and so many our starts as stand ups.
- 2/24/2023
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
The death of NBC’s “Law & Order: Svu” legend Richard Belzer was met with mourning by his longtime co-stars, who shared memories of working with the man who played Det. John Munch along with other actors and writers who knew him from his days as a mainstay on the New York stand-up comedy circuit.
“Richard Belzer was always so kind to me,” tweeted Vincent D’Onofrio, former star of another long-running “Law and Order” spinoff, “Criminal Intent.” “We met at comedy club he was performing in years before ‘L&o.’ I was young with only one film into my career. He always remembered me. I had the pleasure of hang’n [sic] with him a couple of times. Sweet, sweet man and funny as hell. He will be missed.”
Christopher Meloni, who starred alongside Belzer on “Svu” for 12 seasons as Det. Elliot Stabler, posted pictures of the two of them together along...
“Richard Belzer was always so kind to me,” tweeted Vincent D’Onofrio, former star of another long-running “Law and Order” spinoff, “Criminal Intent.” “We met at comedy club he was performing in years before ‘L&o.’ I was young with only one film into my career. He always remembered me. I had the pleasure of hang’n [sic] with him a couple of times. Sweet, sweet man and funny as hell. He will be missed.”
Christopher Meloni, who starred alongside Belzer on “Svu” for 12 seasons as Det. Elliot Stabler, posted pictures of the two of them together along...
- 2/19/2023
- by Jeremy Fuster
- The Wrap
Richard Belzer, “Law & Order: Svu” star and acclaimed comedian, has died. According to multiple reports, Belzer died early Sunday at his home in Bozouls in southwest France. He was 78. A cause of death for the actor is not yet known.
Belzer stared as the beloved Detective John Munch on 1993’s “Homicide: Life on the Streets” before taking the role to where it perhaps became most notable, “Law & Order: Svu”. Belzer starred as Munch on the long-running show until 2013. In addition to “Svu”, Belzer appeared on the original “Law & Order” as well as “Trial by Jury”, playing the role for 23 years in total, across 12 different TV series including “The X-Files”, “The Beat”, “The Wire”, “Arrested Development”, “30 Rock” and “The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”. His last appearance as John Munch was in a guest spot on “Law & Order: Svu” in 2016.
While Belzer got his start as a comedian...
Belzer stared as the beloved Detective John Munch on 1993’s “Homicide: Life on the Streets” before taking the role to where it perhaps became most notable, “Law & Order: Svu”. Belzer starred as Munch on the long-running show until 2013. In addition to “Svu”, Belzer appeared on the original “Law & Order” as well as “Trial by Jury”, playing the role for 23 years in total, across 12 different TV series including “The X-Files”, “The Beat”, “The Wire”, “Arrested Development”, “30 Rock” and “The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”. His last appearance as John Munch was in a guest spot on “Law & Order: Svu” in 2016.
While Belzer got his start as a comedian...
- 2/19/2023
- by Brent Furdyk
- ET Canada
The comedy world and Law & Order: Svu veterans both turned to social media Sunday to pay tribute to Richard Belzer, the legendary comedian-turned-beloved television detective who starred as John Munch for over 20 years.
Marisky Hargitay wrote on Instagram, “Goodbye my dear, dear friend. I will miss you, your unique light, and your singular take on this strange world. I feel blessed to have known you and adored you and worked with you, side by side, for so many years. How luck the angels are to have you. I can hear them laughing already.
Marisky Hargitay wrote on Instagram, “Goodbye my dear, dear friend. I will miss you, your unique light, and your singular take on this strange world. I feel blessed to have known you and adored you and worked with you, side by side, for so many years. How luck the angels are to have you. I can hear them laughing already.
- 2/19/2023
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
In a show of solidarity, more than 400 film and TV writers – including Adam McKay, David Simon, Tina Fey, Alfonso Cuarón, Lilly Wachowski, John Waters and Alan Zweibel – have signed a petition calling on MSNBC to negotiate a fair first-time contract with the WGA East for the cable news network’s news writers and producers.
Related Story NBC News Guild, Wgae Object To News Division And MSNBC Layoffs Related Story Talking Points Memo Editorial Staffers Ratify New WGA East Contract Related Story Podcast Content Creators At Crooked Media Unionize With WGA East
The petition comes after MSNBC laid off 30 of the guild’s 300 members employed there last month – a move that the guild said left it “extremely frustrated and disappointed.” See petition and its full list of signers here.
“We are members of the Writers Guild of America who write and create scripted programs for NBCU and other studios,” reads the petition,...
Related Story NBC News Guild, Wgae Object To News Division And MSNBC Layoffs Related Story Talking Points Memo Editorial Staffers Ratify New WGA East Contract Related Story Podcast Content Creators At Crooked Media Unionize With WGA East
The petition comes after MSNBC laid off 30 of the guild’s 300 members employed there last month – a move that the guild said left it “extremely frustrated and disappointed.” See petition and its full list of signers here.
“We are members of the Writers Guild of America who write and create scripted programs for NBCU and other studios,” reads the petition,...
- 2/8/2023
- by David Robb
- Deadline Film + TV
The Writers Guild of America East has released a petition on Tuesday that is signed by 400 members, including high-profile Hollywood screenwriters like Tina Fey, Lilly Wachowski and Alfonso Cuaron, calling on MSNBC to agree to a union contract with its bargaining unit, which has been in contract talks for more than a year.
In August 2021, 300 writers, producers and other editorial staff members at the cable news network voted overwhelmingly to unionize with the WGA East. But MSNBC management has not come to terms on a contract with the bargaining unit more than 1,100 days after the union was ratified by the National Labor Relations Board.
“We support our fellow Guild- represented writers and producers at MSNBC who have been fighting for over a year to win a reasonable first contract. They are fully dedicated to the important work they do for NBCU and they deserve to be paid – and treated – fairly,...
In August 2021, 300 writers, producers and other editorial staff members at the cable news network voted overwhelmingly to unionize with the WGA East. But MSNBC management has not come to terms on a contract with the bargaining unit more than 1,100 days after the union was ratified by the National Labor Relations Board.
“We support our fellow Guild- represented writers and producers at MSNBC who have been fighting for over a year to win a reasonable first contract. They are fully dedicated to the important work they do for NBCU and they deserve to be paid – and treated – fairly,...
- 2/8/2023
- by Jeremy Fuster
- The Wrap
The 2022 Tribeca Festival has named its jury totaling more than five dozen members across 18 categories with Alan Zweibel, Aidan Quinn, Anne Archer, Rose Troche and Oge Egbuonu judging the U.S. Narrative Feature Competition.
Jessica Alba, Darren Aronofsky and Daryl Hannah are among jurors for the 2022 Human/Nature Prize, a new award this year going “to the project that best illuminates the pressing environmental issues of our time.”
The Nora Ephron Award, created to honor the spirit and vision of the legendary filmmaker and writer and presented for the tenth year, will be juried by Pam Grier along with Amandla Stenberg and Lisa Addario.
Rosanna Arquette, Lucy Boynton, Anthony Edwards and Nikki Karimi are the jury for International Narrative Feature.
Also set to select projects in categories including film, audio storytelling and games are Debra Winger, Andre Holland, Niecy Nash, Alex Winter, Lucy Boynton, Nanfu Wang, Sheila Nevins of MTV Documentary Films...
Jessica Alba, Darren Aronofsky and Daryl Hannah are among jurors for the 2022 Human/Nature Prize, a new award this year going “to the project that best illuminates the pressing environmental issues of our time.”
The Nora Ephron Award, created to honor the spirit and vision of the legendary filmmaker and writer and presented for the tenth year, will be juried by Pam Grier along with Amandla Stenberg and Lisa Addario.
Rosanna Arquette, Lucy Boynton, Anthony Edwards and Nikki Karimi are the jury for International Narrative Feature.
Also set to select projects in categories including film, audio storytelling and games are Debra Winger, Andre Holland, Niecy Nash, Alex Winter, Lucy Boynton, Nanfu Wang, Sheila Nevins of MTV Documentary Films...
- 6/2/2022
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Crystal directs and stars in this oppressively sentimental film about a TV writer coming to terms with his condition with the help of an unlikely new best friend
Billy Crystal directs and stars in this oppressively sentimental dramedy: a glutinous soup of heartbreaking and heartwarming life-lessons, learned as you smile through your tears. Crystal also co-writes with his longtime collaborator, SNL veteran Alan Zweibel, on whose short story The Prize it is based.
Crystal plays Charlie Burns, an ageing New York comedy writer and widower. Charlie created Broadway hits and Hollywood screenplays in his day (some cameos here from Kevin Kline and Sharon Stone), and he is still working on a late-night TV comedy show, though regarded as a dinosaur by the younger writers. Tiffany Haddish plays Emma, a woman who wins lunch with Charlie at a charity auction. Despite her having zero in common with the old guy, there...
Billy Crystal directs and stars in this oppressively sentimental dramedy: a glutinous soup of heartbreaking and heartwarming life-lessons, learned as you smile through your tears. Crystal also co-writes with his longtime collaborator, SNL veteran Alan Zweibel, on whose short story The Prize it is based.
Crystal plays Charlie Burns, an ageing New York comedy writer and widower. Charlie created Broadway hits and Hollywood screenplays in his day (some cameos here from Kevin Kline and Sharon Stone), and he is still working on a late-night TV comedy show, though regarded as a dinosaur by the younger writers. Tiffany Haddish plays Emma, a woman who wins lunch with Charlie at a charity auction. Despite her having zero in common with the old guy, there...
- 9/2/2021
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
There's a lot going on in the latest directorial outing from Billy Crystal and like the jokes in the sketch show which snakes its way through this story of gaining friendship while losing health - some of it lands but a fair amount doesn't.
The trigger for the tale is a short story by Crystal's long-time friend, Saturday Night Live writer Alan Zweibel, The Prize, which recounts an auction-won lunch date that goes badly awry. Dates are not something that come easily to Crystal's character Charlie Burnz, neither hook-ups with women, after he lost his wife years before, or those numbers on a calendar, which like everything in life are beginning to be rendered fuzzy by early dementia.
The winner of the lunch date prize is Emma Payge (Tiffany Haddish), who cheerfully informs the "old man" that not only did he raise the princely sum of $22, she has no idea that he's a famous.
The trigger for the tale is a short story by Crystal's long-time friend, Saturday Night Live writer Alan Zweibel, The Prize, which recounts an auction-won lunch date that goes badly awry. Dates are not something that come easily to Crystal's character Charlie Burnz, neither hook-ups with women, after he lost his wife years before, or those numbers on a calendar, which like everything in life are beginning to be rendered fuzzy by early dementia.
The winner of the lunch date prize is Emma Payge (Tiffany Haddish), who cheerfully informs the "old man" that not only did he raise the princely sum of $22, she has no idea that he's a famous.
- 8/23/2021
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Tiffany Haddish has joined the National Comedy Center’s advisory board of the directors. She fills the seat formerly held by the late Carl Reiner.
The announcement coincides with Lucille Ball’s 110th birthday. The center is located in Ball’s hometown of Jamestown, New York.
“Comedy is a true art form — its artists deserve to be celebrated and its creative work needs to be preserved,” Haddish said on Friday morning. “I’m truly honored to be part of the National Comedy Center. Lucille Ball was an extraordinary influence on my career and my work, so to help bring her vision for this cultural institution to life is a dream come true for me.”
Lewis Black, founding chair of the advisory board, said, “On behalf of the entire advisory board, it’s a thrill to have Tiffany Haddish join us. With Tiffany’s participation, we become a more vital resource...
The announcement coincides with Lucille Ball’s 110th birthday. The center is located in Ball’s hometown of Jamestown, New York.
“Comedy is a true art form — its artists deserve to be celebrated and its creative work needs to be preserved,” Haddish said on Friday morning. “I’m truly honored to be part of the National Comedy Center. Lucille Ball was an extraordinary influence on my career and my work, so to help bring her vision for this cultural institution to life is a dream come true for me.”
Lewis Black, founding chair of the advisory board, said, “On behalf of the entire advisory board, it’s a thrill to have Tiffany Haddish join us. With Tiffany’s participation, we become a more vital resource...
- 8/6/2021
- by Marc Malkin
- Variety Film + TV
Tiffany Haddish co-stars in the US comedy.
Billy Crystal’s US comedy Here Today has been set at the closing film of this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival.
It marks the first title to be announced for the 74th edition of the festival, which will host in-person screenings in the city and across Scotland as well as virtually via new streaming platform Filmhouse at Home.
Here Today stars Crystal as a veteran comedy writer who forms an unlikely friendship with a New York singer, played by Tiffany Haddish.
Crystal also co-wrote the feature with Alan Zweibel, whose short story The Prize inspired the film,...
Billy Crystal’s US comedy Here Today has been set at the closing film of this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival.
It marks the first title to be announced for the 74th edition of the festival, which will host in-person screenings in the city and across Scotland as well as virtually via new streaming platform Filmhouse at Home.
Here Today stars Crystal as a veteran comedy writer who forms an unlikely friendship with a New York singer, played by Tiffany Haddish.
Crystal also co-wrote the feature with Alan Zweibel, whose short story The Prize inspired the film,...
- 7/9/2021
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Make Way for Tomorrow: Crystal Courts Catharsis in Uneven Odd Couple Comedy
It’s been over twenty years since Billy Crystal stepped behind the camera, even longer if you’re counting theatrical features. So, there’s an automatic curiosity regarding Here Today, scripted by Alan Zweibel (based on his short story “The Prize”) in what plays like a partially autobiographical take on a comedy writer whose medical condition provides a pathway to personal redemption. Even more curious is Crystal’s co-star, comedian Tiffany Haddish, playing a kooky chanteuse whose chance meeting with the writer allows for the kind of poignant odd couple situation designed to prime our tears after two fun-filled acts.…...
It’s been over twenty years since Billy Crystal stepped behind the camera, even longer if you’re counting theatrical features. So, there’s an automatic curiosity regarding Here Today, scripted by Alan Zweibel (based on his short story “The Prize”) in what plays like a partially autobiographical take on a comedy writer whose medical condition provides a pathway to personal redemption. Even more curious is Crystal’s co-star, comedian Tiffany Haddish, playing a kooky chanteuse whose chance meeting with the writer allows for the kind of poignant odd couple situation designed to prime our tears after two fun-filled acts.…...
- 5/10/2021
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
The doctor asks, “May I ask what your relationship is?” And Tiffany Haddish and Billy Crystal — whose roles in their new comedy Here Today are more fun to imagine if you pretend the actors are playing themselves, so we’ll keep calling them Tiffany Haddish and Billy Crystal — say, in unison, “I dunno.” It’s one of the running, mild jokes of the movie that people can’t quite seem to make up their minds as to what’s going on between this unlikely-seeming pair. They’re either too polite...
- 5/7/2021
- by K. Austin Collins
- Rollingstone.com
Gilda Radner was worried no one would remember her.
In 1988, as she grappled with ovarian cancer, Radner’s longtime friend and collaborator Alan Zweibel was persuading her to do a guest shot on his Showtime series “It’s Garry Shandling’s Show” one night as they walked along the sand in Santa Monica.
Radner was hesitant. The toll that cancer and chemotherapy had taken on her body, plus the fact that she hadn’t been on TV much in years, made the “Saturday Night Live” and Second City legend nervous about facing a studio audience.
“Just as I was about to say ‘Gilda, don’t be stupid,’ she stopped short and said, ‘But you know something, Zweibel, I have to do your show,’” he recalls. “‘Comedy is the only weapon I have against this fucker.’”
Radner’s salty defiance was a prime example of her courageous spirit. More than three...
In 1988, as she grappled with ovarian cancer, Radner’s longtime friend and collaborator Alan Zweibel was persuading her to do a guest shot on his Showtime series “It’s Garry Shandling’s Show” one night as they walked along the sand in Santa Monica.
Radner was hesitant. The toll that cancer and chemotherapy had taken on her body, plus the fact that she hadn’t been on TV much in years, made the “Saturday Night Live” and Second City legend nervous about facing a studio audience.
“Just as I was about to say ‘Gilda, don’t be stupid,’ she stopped short and said, ‘But you know something, Zweibel, I have to do your show,’” he recalls. “‘Comedy is the only weapon I have against this fucker.’”
Radner’s salty defiance was a prime example of her courageous spirit. More than three...
- 5/7/2021
- by Cynthia Littleton
- Variety Film + TV
“Here Today” is the kind of movie that people don’t really make anymore, and by the time it’s over, there’s a good chance that even the most old-fashioned audiences will have made their peace with that. Billy Crystal’s first directorial outing in the 20 years since “61*” debuted on HBO is about the unusual friendship that forms between a widowed Jewish writer (Crystal) and the newly single Black woman whose ex-boyfriend was his biggest fan (Tiffany Haddish).
It’s not quite as retrograde as it might sound from its logline, or as flimsy as it might look from the American Typewriter font used for its opening credits. In a film where several of the major story beats fall somewhere between far-fetched and Tolkien-level fantasy, it’s impossible not to appreciate the raw human texture that Haddish brings to her under-written role.
Ditto the unforced chemistry that she and Crystal spark together,...
It’s not quite as retrograde as it might sound from its logline, or as flimsy as it might look from the American Typewriter font used for its opening credits. In a film where several of the major story beats fall somewhere between far-fetched and Tolkien-level fantasy, it’s impossible not to appreciate the raw human texture that Haddish brings to her under-written role.
Ditto the unforced chemistry that she and Crystal spark together,...
- 5/7/2021
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
In the new movie “Here Today,” Billy Crystal and Tiffany Haddish play an unlikely duo who form a May-December friendship. Off-screen, the comedy stars have grown just as close.
In fact, when Haddish celebrated her bat mitzvah in late 2019 with a star-studded shindig, Crystal was in attendance alongside Wanda Sykes, Common, Jimmy Kimmel, Chelsea Handler, Kevin Nealon and Sarah Silverman. While the party (held on Haddish’s 40th birthday) doubled as the red-carpet premiere for Haddish’s Netflix special “Black Mitzvah,” the intimate ceremony that preceded it was real, and Crystal played a special role.
“We had just wrapped the film. It was right before Thanksgiving, if I recall,” Crystal tells Variety in a joint interview with Haddish. “Tiffany called me and said, ‘I’m getting bat mitzvahed and I want you to do an Aliyah’ — which is a prayer right before she’s going to read from the Torah...
In fact, when Haddish celebrated her bat mitzvah in late 2019 with a star-studded shindig, Crystal was in attendance alongside Wanda Sykes, Common, Jimmy Kimmel, Chelsea Handler, Kevin Nealon and Sarah Silverman. While the party (held on Haddish’s 40th birthday) doubled as the red-carpet premiere for Haddish’s Netflix special “Black Mitzvah,” the intimate ceremony that preceded it was real, and Crystal played a special role.
“We had just wrapped the film. It was right before Thanksgiving, if I recall,” Crystal tells Variety in a joint interview with Haddish. “Tiffany called me and said, ‘I’m getting bat mitzvahed and I want you to do an Aliyah’ — which is a prayer right before she’s going to read from the Torah...
- 5/6/2021
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety Film + TV
Chicago – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on Wbgr-fm on May 6th, 2021, reviewing the new film “Here Today” in theaters (check local listings) beginning May 7th.
Rating: 3.5/5.0
Billy Crystal is Charlie Berns, a notable comedy writer of films and stage plays, who is now a producer on a Saturday Night Live-type show. He has been diagnosed with dementia, and is keeping it from his son and daughter (Penn Bagdley and Laura Benanti). Enter Emma (Tiffany Haddish), who has won a free lunch with Charlie through an ex-boyfriend, but has no idea who he is. They become friends and then much more, and Emma begins encouraging Charlie to finish his memoir through his spotty memories, including the events that made him a widower.
“Here Today” is in theaters beginning May 7th. Featuring Billy Crystal, Tiffany Haddish, Penn Bagdley, Laura Benanti, Louisa Krause, Anna Deavere Smith and Sharon Stone.
Rating: 3.5/5.0
Billy Crystal is Charlie Berns, a notable comedy writer of films and stage plays, who is now a producer on a Saturday Night Live-type show. He has been diagnosed with dementia, and is keeping it from his son and daughter (Penn Bagdley and Laura Benanti). Enter Emma (Tiffany Haddish), who has won a free lunch with Charlie through an ex-boyfriend, but has no idea who he is. They become friends and then much more, and Emma begins encouraging Charlie to finish his memoir through his spotty memories, including the events that made him a widower.
“Here Today” is in theaters beginning May 7th. Featuring Billy Crystal, Tiffany Haddish, Penn Bagdley, Laura Benanti, Louisa Krause, Anna Deavere Smith and Sharon Stone.
- 5/6/2021
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Billy Crystal has earned the right to be choosy. After nearly 50 years in the entertainment industry — from roasting Muhammad Ali to being a cast member on “Saturday Night Live,” hosting his own variety show and helping to modernize the romantic comedy, even serving as the contemporary ideal Oscars host, and that’s just the funny stuff — Crystal has hit comedic milestone after comedic milestone.
He’s also starred in some of the box office’s biggest hits, hosted the Grammys, directed four films, won six primetime Emmys, plus a Tony and a Mark Twain Prize. He even got to be friends with his childhood hero, Mickey Mantle, after directing HBO feature “61*” about Mantle and Roger Maris’ quest to break Babe Ruth’s home run record. It’s been a good run, and it’s not over yet.
While Crystal’s resume isn’t exactly lacking, there is one area in...
He’s also starred in some of the box office’s biggest hits, hosted the Grammys, directed four films, won six primetime Emmys, plus a Tony and a Mark Twain Prize. He even got to be friends with his childhood hero, Mickey Mantle, after directing HBO feature “61*” about Mantle and Roger Maris’ quest to break Babe Ruth’s home run record. It’s been a good run, and it’s not over yet.
While Crystal’s resume isn’t exactly lacking, there is one area in...
- 5/6/2021
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
“Here Today,” starring Billy Crystal as a venerable TV comedy writer and Tiffany Haddish as the saintly, rough-around-the-edges street singer who becomes his unlikely pal, is a movie that feels like it could have been made 30 years ago: a friendly, adult-skewing, tart-witted but never nasty, jokes-and-hugs-built-around-a-serious-crisis character study that’s just ’90s enough to be comfortably old-fashioned, like an old pair of tasseled loafers. What’s good about the movie is that Crystal, who co-wrote and directed it, has an inside knowledge of the showbiz comedy world (as he demonstrated in 1992 when he directed and starred in the acerbically accomplished “Mr. Saturday Night”), and the prickly vivacity with which he portrays it roots the movie in something real.
Crystal’s Charlie Burnz lives in a beautiful Brooklyn brownstone and walks each day to the cable-television studio where he’s the senior writer on “This Just In,” a popular sketch-comedy show...
Crystal’s Charlie Burnz lives in a beautiful Brooklyn brownstone and walks each day to the cable-television studio where he’s the senior writer on “This Just In,” a popular sketch-comedy show...
- 5/5/2021
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Tiffany Haddish isn’t given much of a character to play, but at least she gets to sing
There’s an unwritten rule that when comedy professionals make movies about comedy professionals — be they stand-ups, late-night sketch stars, or talk-show gag-writers — the jokes made by the comedians-within-the-movie are almost never funny. That’s certainly the case with “Here Today,” although the thudding attempts at humor are the least of the movie’s problems.
Director, star, and co-writer Billy Crystal, back on the crying-on-the-inside beat some three decades after “Mr. Saturday Night,” wants viewers to chuckle and weep with this tale of a legendary comedy writer facing the grim realities of oncoming dementia, but “Here Today” takes pretty much everything “The Father” did right and does it wrong, and as a bonus, reduces the elemental force that is Tiffany Haddish to a magical caregiver.
Crystal stars as Charlie Burnz, a legendary...
There’s an unwritten rule that when comedy professionals make movies about comedy professionals — be they stand-ups, late-night sketch stars, or talk-show gag-writers — the jokes made by the comedians-within-the-movie are almost never funny. That’s certainly the case with “Here Today,” although the thudding attempts at humor are the least of the movie’s problems.
Director, star, and co-writer Billy Crystal, back on the crying-on-the-inside beat some three decades after “Mr. Saturday Night,” wants viewers to chuckle and weep with this tale of a legendary comedy writer facing the grim realities of oncoming dementia, but “Here Today” takes pretty much everything “The Father” did right and does it wrong, and as a bonus, reduces the elemental force that is Tiffany Haddish to a magical caregiver.
Crystal stars as Charlie Burnz, a legendary...
- 5/5/2021
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
Exclusive: My Entertainment’s recently launched One Foot Forward division, formed to develop and produce premium, non-scripted content targeting the leading streaming services, has unveiled an impressive list of initial content deals and IP. Partners include Michael Sugar’s Sugar23, Mark Wahlberg’s Unrealistic Ideas, Laurent Bouzereau, original Saturday Night Live writer Alan Zweibel, Jeremiah Crowell, Paul Pawlowski Emmy and Peabody Award-winner Dave Check, and Scout Productions. The division is overseen...
- 4/27/2021
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Billy Crystal and Tiffany Haddish’s new film “Here Today” will be here soon.
The comedy starring Emmy and Tony Award winner Crystal and Emmy and Grammy winner Haddish will launch on May 7.
Crystal plays a veteran comedy writer named Charlie Burnz, who forms an unlikely, yet hilarious and touching friendship with New York singer Emma Payge (Haddish) that “kicks the generation gap aside and redefines the meaning of love and trust.” Rounding out the film’s cast are Penn Badgley, Laura Benanti, Louisa Krause, Anna Deavere Smith and Nyambi Nyambi.
Crystal directed the film, his third feature and eighth directorial effort. Crystal also co-wrote the screenplay with his fellow “Saturday Night Live” alum and Emmy Award-winning writer Alan Zweibel, whose short story “The Prize” inspired the film.
Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions’ Stage 6 Films has acquired worldwide rights to the project, which is a co-production by Astute Films, Crystal’s Face Productions and Big Head Productions.
The comedy starring Emmy and Tony Award winner Crystal and Emmy and Grammy winner Haddish will launch on May 7.
Crystal plays a veteran comedy writer named Charlie Burnz, who forms an unlikely, yet hilarious and touching friendship with New York singer Emma Payge (Haddish) that “kicks the generation gap aside and redefines the meaning of love and trust.” Rounding out the film’s cast are Penn Badgley, Laura Benanti, Louisa Krause, Anna Deavere Smith and Nyambi Nyambi.
Crystal directed the film, his third feature and eighth directorial effort. Crystal also co-wrote the screenplay with his fellow “Saturday Night Live” alum and Emmy Award-winning writer Alan Zweibel, whose short story “The Prize” inspired the film.
Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions’ Stage 6 Films has acquired worldwide rights to the project, which is a co-production by Astute Films, Crystal’s Face Productions and Big Head Productions.
- 4/14/2021
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety Film + TV
Tiffany Haddish and Billy Crystal’s “Here Today” has been picked up by Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions’ Stage 6 Films, the studio announced on Tuesday.
The dramedy will be released on May 7, 2021.
The logline for the film reads, “When veteran comedy writer Charlie Burnz (Billy Crystal) meets New York singer Emma Payge (Tiffany Haddish), they form an unlikely yet hilarious and touching friendship that kicks the generation gap aside and redefines the meaning of love and trust.”
Crystal co-wrote the screenplay with his fellow “Saturday Night Live” alum and Emmy-award winning writer Alan Zweibel inspired by the short story “The Prize,” also written by Zweibel. Crystal serves as director of the film, his eighth time directing and his third on a feature film.
“I am thrilled that Here Today will be in theaters with real people soon,” Crystal said in a statement to Deadline which first reported the news. “It was...
The dramedy will be released on May 7, 2021.
The logline for the film reads, “When veteran comedy writer Charlie Burnz (Billy Crystal) meets New York singer Emma Payge (Tiffany Haddish), they form an unlikely yet hilarious and touching friendship that kicks the generation gap aside and redefines the meaning of love and trust.”
Crystal co-wrote the screenplay with his fellow “Saturday Night Live” alum and Emmy-award winning writer Alan Zweibel inspired by the short story “The Prize,” also written by Zweibel. Crystal serves as director of the film, his eighth time directing and his third on a feature film.
“I am thrilled that Here Today will be in theaters with real people soon,” Crystal said in a statement to Deadline which first reported the news. “It was...
- 4/14/2021
- by Umberto Gonzalez
- The Wrap
Exclusive: The Tiffany Haddish and Billy Crystal dramedy Here Today has been picked up by Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions’ Stage 6 Films and will open in theaters on May 7.
Crystal directed the movie, repping his eighth time directing and his third on a feature film.
Crystal co-wrote the screenplay with his fellow Saturday Night Live alum and Emmy-award winning writer Alan Zweibel inspired by the short story The Prize also written by Zweibel.
Here Today follows veteran comedy writer Charlie Burnz (Crystal), who is going through a tough time in his life. He meets New York singer Emma Payge (Haddish) and they form an unlikely yet hilarious and touching friendship that kicks the generation gap aside and redefines the meaning of love and trust. Zweibel published his original short story The Prize in his eBook From the Bottom Drawer of: Alan Zweibel in 2011. He and Crystal decided to adapt the short...
Crystal directed the movie, repping his eighth time directing and his third on a feature film.
Crystal co-wrote the screenplay with his fellow Saturday Night Live alum and Emmy-award winning writer Alan Zweibel inspired by the short story The Prize also written by Zweibel.
Here Today follows veteran comedy writer Charlie Burnz (Crystal), who is going through a tough time in his life. He meets New York singer Emma Payge (Haddish) and they form an unlikely yet hilarious and touching friendship that kicks the generation gap aside and redefines the meaning of love and trust. Zweibel published his original short story The Prize in his eBook From the Bottom Drawer of: Alan Zweibel in 2011. He and Crystal decided to adapt the short...
- 4/14/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
She’s been Connie Conehead, the youngest spawn of Beldar and Prymaat. Or perhaps you remember her as Christie Christina, the cohost of E. Buzz Miller’s public access cable show. Maybe you recall the stints as a TV news reporter on Chevy Chase’s version of SNL’s “Weekend Update” segments.
However you remember Laraine Newman from her Saturday Night Live days of more than four decades ago, you’ll look at her in a different way after reviewing her new audiobook, May You Live in Interesting Times, a nine-hour memoir out via Audible.com March 11.
Narrated by Newman, the audiobook explores the entirety of her life, from growing up in Los Angeles with movie star neighbors, bearing witness to the music scene in the 1960s (and losing her virginity to Johnny Winter) and seeing the rise of comedy in the early 70s, to studying mime in Paris under the tutelage of Marcel Marceau.
However you remember Laraine Newman from her Saturday Night Live days of more than four decades ago, you’ll look at her in a different way after reviewing her new audiobook, May You Live in Interesting Times, a nine-hour memoir out via Audible.com March 11.
Narrated by Newman, the audiobook explores the entirety of her life, from growing up in Los Angeles with movie star neighbors, bearing witness to the music scene in the 1960s (and losing her virginity to Johnny Winter) and seeing the rise of comedy in the early 70s, to studying mime in Paris under the tutelage of Marcel Marceau.
- 3/7/2021
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
John Belushi’s kinetic energy and skill at physical comedy made him a larger than life performer during his short run as a superstar on “Saturday Night Live” and in movies such as 1978’s “Animal House” and 1980’s “The Blues Brothers.”
But Belushi’s work off-camera as a writer and director, from his earliest days in the Second City improv troupe, was considerable. As the life of the comedian — who died of a drug overdose at age 33 in 1982 — is re-examined in the R.J. Cutler documentary “Belushi,” which premieres Nov. 22 on Showtime, here are highlights of Belushi’s story as chronicled by Variety.
The first reference to John Belushi came in the Nov. 17, 1971, edition of weekly Variety. He was singled out for praise in a generally positive review of the “Cum Granis Salis” show staged by Chicago’s legendary Second City. That famed ensemble would later contribute major players to the original “Saturday Night Live” cast,...
But Belushi’s work off-camera as a writer and director, from his earliest days in the Second City improv troupe, was considerable. As the life of the comedian — who died of a drug overdose at age 33 in 1982 — is re-examined in the R.J. Cutler documentary “Belushi,” which premieres Nov. 22 on Showtime, here are highlights of Belushi’s story as chronicled by Variety.
The first reference to John Belushi came in the Nov. 17, 1971, edition of weekly Variety. He was singled out for praise in a generally positive review of the “Cum Granis Salis” show staged by Chicago’s legendary Second City. That famed ensemble would later contribute major players to the original “Saturday Night Live” cast,...
- 11/22/2020
- by Cynthia Littleton
- Variety Film + TV
Gilda’s Club New York City celebrated 25 years of providing free cancer support and raised $1 million to keep its extraordinary work going at its Virtual Anniversary Benefit Gala.
Emma Stone Online For Gilda's Club Gala
Gilda’s Club is dedicated to being the premier cancer support organization in New York City providing a welcoming community for everyone impacted by cancer – cancer support for the whole family, the whole time. The organization founded in memory of Saturday Night Live (SNL) comedienne Gilda Radner honored Giovanni Caforio, M.D., Chairman & CEO of Bristol Myers Squibb (Bms), with the Red Door Award for Leadership; Emma Stone, actress and Gilda’s Club NYC Ambassador, accepted the Gilda Radner Award.
Wabc-tv anchor Bill Ritter returned as Gala host for the 9th year. Ben Platt performed his new song “So Will I;” guests were also serenaded by his Dear Evan Hansen castmate Nicole Van Giesen and The Workshop NYC A Cappella.
Emma Stone Online For Gilda's Club Gala
Gilda’s Club is dedicated to being the premier cancer support organization in New York City providing a welcoming community for everyone impacted by cancer – cancer support for the whole family, the whole time. The organization founded in memory of Saturday Night Live (SNL) comedienne Gilda Radner honored Giovanni Caforio, M.D., Chairman & CEO of Bristol Myers Squibb (Bms), with the Red Door Award for Leadership; Emma Stone, actress and Gilda’s Club NYC Ambassador, accepted the Gilda Radner Award.
Wabc-tv anchor Bill Ritter returned as Gala host for the 9th year. Ben Platt performed his new song “So Will I;” guests were also serenaded by his Dear Evan Hansen castmate Nicole Van Giesen and The Workshop NYC A Cappella.
- 11/17/2020
- Look to the Stars
Norm Crosby, the comedian whose fractured English won him fame as “Mr. Malaprop,” died Saturday at age 93.
He died of heart failure in Los Angeles, his wife, Joan, told The Hollywood Reporter.
The Boston native was a regular on the stand-up comedy circuit in the 1950s, projecting a blue-collar guy-next-door persona that was built on his often shaky grasp of vocabulary — he’d go to the tailor because his pants need an “altercation” or call “catastrophe” a punctuation mark or claim that people who can’t read or write have a problem with “illegitimacy.”
His routine led to frequent appearances on TV talk shows hosted by Ed Sullivan, Johnny Carson and Merv Griffin. He co-starred in Phyllis Diller’s short-lived NBC sitcom in 1968 and appeared on many televised roasts throughout the 1970s and ’80s. From 1978 to 1981, he hosted the syndicated series “The Comedy Shop” featuring appearances by up-and-coming comics.
His...
He died of heart failure in Los Angeles, his wife, Joan, told The Hollywood Reporter.
The Boston native was a regular on the stand-up comedy circuit in the 1950s, projecting a blue-collar guy-next-door persona that was built on his often shaky grasp of vocabulary — he’d go to the tailor because his pants need an “altercation” or call “catastrophe” a punctuation mark or claim that people who can’t read or write have a problem with “illegitimacy.”
His routine led to frequent appearances on TV talk shows hosted by Ed Sullivan, Johnny Carson and Merv Griffin. He co-starred in Phyllis Diller’s short-lived NBC sitcom in 1968 and appeared on many televised roasts throughout the 1970s and ’80s. From 1978 to 1981, he hosted the syndicated series “The Comedy Shop” featuring appearances by up-and-coming comics.
His...
- 11/8/2020
- by Thom Geier
- The Wrap
John McCormack, a longtime behind-the-scenes force in Off Broadway theater, died Monday, May 18, at his home in Queens, New York from complications related to Covid-19. He was 61.
McCormack’s death was announced by Off Broadway’s Intar Theatre, where he was executive director.
During a nearly 40-year career, McCormack was an influential player in New York theater, working in producing, artistic director and executive positions at such companies as Ensemble Studio Theatre, Naked Angels, the Zipper Theater, his own company All Seasons Theater, and, since 2006, Intar.
Many of the performers and writers he championed would go on to successful careers in theater, film and television. Among the artists whose careers he impacted over the years were actors Kevin Bacon, Patricia Clarkson, Rob Morrow; playwrights Warren Leight, Richard Greenberg, Lucas Hnath and Alan Zweibel; director Mark Brokaw and artistic directors Douglas Aibel, Bernard Telsey and Christopher Ashley, among many others.
“Nobody...
McCormack’s death was announced by Off Broadway’s Intar Theatre, where he was executive director.
During a nearly 40-year career, McCormack was an influential player in New York theater, working in producing, artistic director and executive positions at such companies as Ensemble Studio Theatre, Naked Angels, the Zipper Theater, his own company All Seasons Theater, and, since 2006, Intar.
Many of the performers and writers he championed would go on to successful careers in theater, film and television. Among the artists whose careers he impacted over the years were actors Kevin Bacon, Patricia Clarkson, Rob Morrow; playwrights Warren Leight, Richard Greenberg, Lucas Hnath and Alan Zweibel; director Mark Brokaw and artistic directors Douglas Aibel, Bernard Telsey and Christopher Ashley, among many others.
“Nobody...
- 6/1/2020
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Alan Zweibel clearly knows funny. He’s accrued multiple Emmy wins and nominations for his time on the comedy writing teams of “Saturday Night Live” and “It’s Garry Shandling’s Show,” the latter of which he co-created, plus writing credits on several hit films, books, theater works and comedy/variety specials for mega-talents such as Paul Simon, Gilda Radner, Billy Crystal and Steve Martin.
In his book “Laugh Lines: My Life Helping Funny People Be Funnier” (Abrams Press), which was published April 14, Zweibel’s life lessons, tricks of the trade and insights on how to chart the path from your brain to someone’s laugh center are all revealed. Don’t be deceived: Zweibel makes it sound easy, but that’s after nearly 50 years toiling at funny bone tickling. He was first in the pages of Variety in 1973, when one of his jokes for Borscht Belt comic Freddie Roman got quoted in a review.
In his book “Laugh Lines: My Life Helping Funny People Be Funnier” (Abrams Press), which was published April 14, Zweibel’s life lessons, tricks of the trade and insights on how to chart the path from your brain to someone’s laugh center are all revealed. Don’t be deceived: Zweibel makes it sound easy, but that’s after nearly 50 years toiling at funny bone tickling. He was first in the pages of Variety in 1973, when one of his jokes for Borscht Belt comic Freddie Roman got quoted in a review.
- 5/28/2020
- by Steven Gaydos
- Variety Film + TV
Alan Zweibel was an original Saturday Night Live writer. He was the co-creator and producer of It’s Garry Shandling’s Show. He’s won multiple Emmy and Writers Guild awards, written 11 books and Tony-winning Broadway plays, and created a few films and TV shows.
Sure, you’re saying. But what has he done for us lately?
For starters, he’s rolled up those decades of comedy experiences into a memoir, Laugh Lines: My Life Helping Funny People Be Funnier (Abrams Press), featuring a foreword by Billy Crystal. He’s also awaiting a movie he co-wrote and co-produced with Crystal titled Here Today that stars Crystal and Tiffany Haddish. And, of course, he’s out promoting his memoir.
Laugh Lines details a remarkable writing career. Starting with providing one-liners to aging Catskills comics, Zweibel takes us through his interactions with the original SNL creators and his time with Shandling, another critically hailed effort.
The book covers the general highs and lows, all of it is told with deep personal insight into the boldface names he’s worked with over the years, and with honesty shown about the times those relationships and his own projects didn’t turn out perfectly.
Zweibel answered a few questions from Deadline about the state of comedy and writing.
Deadline: You’ve worked in Hollywood and New York. Do you believe the Herman Mankiewicz statement that “Millions are to be grabbed out here (Hollywood) and your only competition is idiots” is true? Was it ever?
Alan Zweibel: There are idiots everywhere. Hollywood. New York. My guess is there are even a handful of idiots in Montana. The trick, however, is to avoid them as much as possible. And the idiots you can’t avoid? Well, tell them what they want to hear and then mumble the word “Idiot” as you walk away from them. And if they overhear you? Not a problem. They’ll think you’re talking about someone else because they’re, well, they’re idiots.
Deadline: While you acknowledge in your book that your voice wouldn’t fit today, are you worried that comedy has become too PC?
Alan Zweibel: I’m certainly not alone by holding the belief that this PC business is choking the life out of comedy. The hypersensitivity that certain people possess as to what is offensive is beyond good sense. Wasn’t it more fun when everyone made fun of everyone else and then we all went out to eat afterwards? Comedy is about things that are imperfect – and that includes our differences. Tie our hands by making things off limits and the irony is that you’re being even more divisive.
Deadline: Do you feel you’ve gotten funnier as you got older? Or is it like with athletes, that you lose something as you age?
Alan Zweibel: As you age, it’s often a different kind of funny when you stay true to who you are and write from that place. As much as I still love SNL and watch it religiously, I couldn’t write for it these days because I would probably sound like an older man trying to figure out what would make the kids laugh and ring out as fraudulent. On the other hand, Billy Crystal and I just finished a movie we co-wrote that he directed and stars in with Tiffany Haddish called “Here Today.” It’s a script that neither of us could have written ten years ago because our life experiences did not include the situation Billy’s character was in – a man losing his grip on reality who wants to finish a book he’s writing about his deceased wife before his words are gone. While the initial scenes with Tiffany are really funny, as their relationship grows and Billy’s character’s problems become more severe, the humor takes on a different tone. And it was only because Billy and I had family members who were experiencing the onset of dementia that we were able to write those scenes where the humor had an appropriate tenor .
Deadline: What will happen to comedy if there are no comedy clubs, if the pandemic takes its toll?
Alan Zweibel: The world of stand-up will suffer if there are no places to develop. To experiment. To fail. Same with improv. These clubs and small theaters are sandlots where presentation is honed, and where words are arranged and rearranged before settling on their order. A place where audiences are a vital particpant in the process by immediately letting you know when your efforts are succeeding. Since this cannot be done in a vacuum. If these places disappear I fear that young performers will have no choice but to go door to door to hone their craft, which can be annoying for all involved.
Deadline: Why are there taboos in comedy?
Alan Zweibel: Okay, maybe there are. But I think they’re subjective. What is morally corrupt to one person may not be offensive to another for the reason I stated in Question #6 which I answered before addressing this one. So I beg you, please don’t make me repeat myself. I have a crowded life with lots of other stuff to do
Deadline: Has a joke ever offended you? What was the general subject if “yes.” If not, is it because of your understanding of the process of creating something intended for laughs, or…?
Alan Zweibel: The only “offensive” jokes that have actually offended me are the ones that were written poorly. For me, it’s not the subject but its execution. When I was with SNL, Michael O’Donoghue wrote some of the most “offensive” jokes I’ve ever heard (ie. Professor Backwards being stabbed to death because no one responded to his cries of “Pleh! Pleh!”) but they were so brilliantly structured you found yourself laughing.
Deadline: We’ve granted you the power to pick five people for SNL from anywhere in time, the only rule being that they have never appeared before or written for the show. Who do you pick and why?
Alan Zweibel: Dorothy Parker – writer – Would love to hear what she’d have to say about what’s going on in today’s world.
Harpo Marx – (actor) – Would’ve been fun to have Harpo and Gilda do some non-verbal scene together. Would also have liked to see how Harpo looked in color.
Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks – Even if it’s for one guest appearance, I think that a younger audience should become familiar with the 2000 Year Old Man.
Mort Sahl – (writer/performer) – would like to see one of the greatest satirists of his (or any) do an editorial on Weekend Update .
God – (writer) – since I think that Kate Mckinnon is a gift from God, I’d be curious to see what he writes for her.
Deadline: How has the internet affected young writers? Old writers?
Alan Zweibel: The internet is a great place for both young and old writers to hang out and avoid actually writing for hours (even days) at a time.
Deadline: I was surprised that there was very little meanness in the book, even with such a nemesis as Roger Ebert. Isn’t being a little mean a prerequisite for some great comedy?
Alan Zweibel: True, meanness is a great ingredient for comedy but my book is about my adventures in the comedy world and the people I’ve been fortunate enough to collaborate with and that’s different. Meanness wasn’t embedded in anything I’d written. It is not a dominant character trait of mine. So while I thought that Ebert’s review of “North” was a tad over the top, I ultimately made it work for me by writing about it and actually reading that review on late night talk shows. For big laughs. It took a while to get there psychologically but in that particular case it was how I handled Ebert’s meanness that made me look better. That said, he was a bit of prick. Happy?
Deadline: Political humor has been around since there were politicians. But today, political humor often seems more like an angry screed than an attempt to win laughs. Do you agree?
Alan Zweibel: I agree to an extent. People’s extreme feelings are at a fever pitch because it goes beyond politics. Their reactions are about a man whose moral bankruptcy is abhorrent to all decent homo sapiens. It’s not about which side of the aisle you sit but rather about someone who, every time he’s given an opportunity to show he has even a scintilla of humanity, never fails to appall. This is not necessarily political humor – it is a venting of outrage.
Deadline: You live in New Jersey, but still feel compelled to be known as a “New York writer.” Can people only be funny if they live in NY or La?
Alan Zweibel: Being a NY writer is not a matter of geography as much as it’s a mindset. And that mindset can exist anywhere you live – it’s simply easier to be funnier if you’re surrounded by funny people. Although, I do wish there were a few more funny people living in New Jersey so I wouldn’t have to pay so much money in tolls driving across the George Washington Bridge or through the Lincoln Tunnel as often as I do.
Sure, you’re saying. But what has he done for us lately?
For starters, he’s rolled up those decades of comedy experiences into a memoir, Laugh Lines: My Life Helping Funny People Be Funnier (Abrams Press), featuring a foreword by Billy Crystal. He’s also awaiting a movie he co-wrote and co-produced with Crystal titled Here Today that stars Crystal and Tiffany Haddish. And, of course, he’s out promoting his memoir.
Laugh Lines details a remarkable writing career. Starting with providing one-liners to aging Catskills comics, Zweibel takes us through his interactions with the original SNL creators and his time with Shandling, another critically hailed effort.
The book covers the general highs and lows, all of it is told with deep personal insight into the boldface names he’s worked with over the years, and with honesty shown about the times those relationships and his own projects didn’t turn out perfectly.
Zweibel answered a few questions from Deadline about the state of comedy and writing.
Deadline: You’ve worked in Hollywood and New York. Do you believe the Herman Mankiewicz statement that “Millions are to be grabbed out here (Hollywood) and your only competition is idiots” is true? Was it ever?
Alan Zweibel: There are idiots everywhere. Hollywood. New York. My guess is there are even a handful of idiots in Montana. The trick, however, is to avoid them as much as possible. And the idiots you can’t avoid? Well, tell them what they want to hear and then mumble the word “Idiot” as you walk away from them. And if they overhear you? Not a problem. They’ll think you’re talking about someone else because they’re, well, they’re idiots.
Deadline: While you acknowledge in your book that your voice wouldn’t fit today, are you worried that comedy has become too PC?
Alan Zweibel: I’m certainly not alone by holding the belief that this PC business is choking the life out of comedy. The hypersensitivity that certain people possess as to what is offensive is beyond good sense. Wasn’t it more fun when everyone made fun of everyone else and then we all went out to eat afterwards? Comedy is about things that are imperfect – and that includes our differences. Tie our hands by making things off limits and the irony is that you’re being even more divisive.
Deadline: Do you feel you’ve gotten funnier as you got older? Or is it like with athletes, that you lose something as you age?
Alan Zweibel: As you age, it’s often a different kind of funny when you stay true to who you are and write from that place. As much as I still love SNL and watch it religiously, I couldn’t write for it these days because I would probably sound like an older man trying to figure out what would make the kids laugh and ring out as fraudulent. On the other hand, Billy Crystal and I just finished a movie we co-wrote that he directed and stars in with Tiffany Haddish called “Here Today.” It’s a script that neither of us could have written ten years ago because our life experiences did not include the situation Billy’s character was in – a man losing his grip on reality who wants to finish a book he’s writing about his deceased wife before his words are gone. While the initial scenes with Tiffany are really funny, as their relationship grows and Billy’s character’s problems become more severe, the humor takes on a different tone. And it was only because Billy and I had family members who were experiencing the onset of dementia that we were able to write those scenes where the humor had an appropriate tenor .
Deadline: What will happen to comedy if there are no comedy clubs, if the pandemic takes its toll?
Alan Zweibel: The world of stand-up will suffer if there are no places to develop. To experiment. To fail. Same with improv. These clubs and small theaters are sandlots where presentation is honed, and where words are arranged and rearranged before settling on their order. A place where audiences are a vital particpant in the process by immediately letting you know when your efforts are succeeding. Since this cannot be done in a vacuum. If these places disappear I fear that young performers will have no choice but to go door to door to hone their craft, which can be annoying for all involved.
Deadline: Why are there taboos in comedy?
Alan Zweibel: Okay, maybe there are. But I think they’re subjective. What is morally corrupt to one person may not be offensive to another for the reason I stated in Question #6 which I answered before addressing this one. So I beg you, please don’t make me repeat myself. I have a crowded life with lots of other stuff to do
Deadline: Has a joke ever offended you? What was the general subject if “yes.” If not, is it because of your understanding of the process of creating something intended for laughs, or…?
Alan Zweibel: The only “offensive” jokes that have actually offended me are the ones that were written poorly. For me, it’s not the subject but its execution. When I was with SNL, Michael O’Donoghue wrote some of the most “offensive” jokes I’ve ever heard (ie. Professor Backwards being stabbed to death because no one responded to his cries of “Pleh! Pleh!”) but they were so brilliantly structured you found yourself laughing.
Deadline: We’ve granted you the power to pick five people for SNL from anywhere in time, the only rule being that they have never appeared before or written for the show. Who do you pick and why?
Alan Zweibel: Dorothy Parker – writer – Would love to hear what she’d have to say about what’s going on in today’s world.
Harpo Marx – (actor) – Would’ve been fun to have Harpo and Gilda do some non-verbal scene together. Would also have liked to see how Harpo looked in color.
Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks – Even if it’s for one guest appearance, I think that a younger audience should become familiar with the 2000 Year Old Man.
Mort Sahl – (writer/performer) – would like to see one of the greatest satirists of his (or any) do an editorial on Weekend Update .
God – (writer) – since I think that Kate Mckinnon is a gift from God, I’d be curious to see what he writes for her.
Deadline: How has the internet affected young writers? Old writers?
Alan Zweibel: The internet is a great place for both young and old writers to hang out and avoid actually writing for hours (even days) at a time.
Deadline: I was surprised that there was very little meanness in the book, even with such a nemesis as Roger Ebert. Isn’t being a little mean a prerequisite for some great comedy?
Alan Zweibel: True, meanness is a great ingredient for comedy but my book is about my adventures in the comedy world and the people I’ve been fortunate enough to collaborate with and that’s different. Meanness wasn’t embedded in anything I’d written. It is not a dominant character trait of mine. So while I thought that Ebert’s review of “North” was a tad over the top, I ultimately made it work for me by writing about it and actually reading that review on late night talk shows. For big laughs. It took a while to get there psychologically but in that particular case it was how I handled Ebert’s meanness that made me look better. That said, he was a bit of prick. Happy?
Deadline: Political humor has been around since there were politicians. But today, political humor often seems more like an angry screed than an attempt to win laughs. Do you agree?
Alan Zweibel: I agree to an extent. People’s extreme feelings are at a fever pitch because it goes beyond politics. Their reactions are about a man whose moral bankruptcy is abhorrent to all decent homo sapiens. It’s not about which side of the aisle you sit but rather about someone who, every time he’s given an opportunity to show he has even a scintilla of humanity, never fails to appall. This is not necessarily political humor – it is a venting of outrage.
Deadline: You live in New Jersey, but still feel compelled to be known as a “New York writer.” Can people only be funny if they live in NY or La?
Alan Zweibel: Being a NY writer is not a matter of geography as much as it’s a mindset. And that mindset can exist anywhere you live – it’s simply easier to be funnier if you’re surrounded by funny people. Although, I do wish there were a few more funny people living in New Jersey so I wouldn’t have to pay so much money in tolls driving across the George Washington Bridge or through the Lincoln Tunnel as often as I do.
- 5/23/2020
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Your best Afm story?
Last year while at Afm, I was introduced to a Billy Crystal-Alan Zweibel script called Here Today. As I write this, we are in New York City shooting Day 17 with Billy and Tiffany Haddish. What could be better?
Best place to grab a drink after midnight in Santa Monica?
Chez Jay. It has been the go-to for more than 40 years.
The best "worst" project you’ve seen on offer at Afm?
Anything by Troma.
Your hidden-gem restaurant or bar?
Philz Coffee on Santa Monica Boulevard near 6th Street.
The place you go to escape the industry? ...
Last year while at Afm, I was introduced to a Billy Crystal-Alan Zweibel script called Here Today. As I write this, we are in New York City shooting Day 17 with Billy and Tiffany Haddish. What could be better?
Best place to grab a drink after midnight in Santa Monica?
Chez Jay. It has been the go-to for more than 40 years.
The best "worst" project you’ve seen on offer at Afm?
Anything by Troma.
Your hidden-gem restaurant or bar?
Philz Coffee on Santa Monica Boulevard near 6th Street.
The place you go to escape the industry? ...
- 11/8/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Your best Afm story?
Last year while at Afm, I was introduced to a Billy Crystal-Alan Zweibel script called Here Today. As I write this, we are in New York City shooting Day 17 with Billy and Tiffany Haddish. What could be better?
Best place to grab a drink after midnight in Santa Monica?
Chez Jay. It has been the go-to for more than 40 years.
The best "worst" project you’ve seen on offer at Afm?
Anything by Troma.
Your hidden-gem restaurant or bar?
Philz Coffee on Santa Monica Boulevard near 6th Street.
The place you go to escape the industry? ...
Last year while at Afm, I was introduced to a Billy Crystal-Alan Zweibel script called Here Today. As I write this, we are in New York City shooting Day 17 with Billy and Tiffany Haddish. What could be better?
Best place to grab a drink after midnight in Santa Monica?
Chez Jay. It has been the go-to for more than 40 years.
The best "worst" project you’ve seen on offer at Afm?
Anything by Troma.
Your hidden-gem restaurant or bar?
Philz Coffee on Santa Monica Boulevard near 6th Street.
The place you go to escape the industry? ...
- 11/8/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Gossip Girl alum Penn Badgley, who currently stars on the Netflix series, You, and Tony-winning actress Laura Benanti have been added to the cast of Here Today along with Anna Deavere Smith and Nyambi Nyambi. Emmy winners Billy Crystal and Tiffany Haddish are toplining the Astute Films comedy, which is currently filming in New York City.
Here Today will mark Crystal’s eighth time directing and his third on a feature. It follows veteran comedy writer Charlie Burnz (Crystal), who is slowly but surely losing his grip on reality, befriends a talented young New York street singer Emma Payge (Haddish). Together, they form an unlikely yet hilarious and touching friendship that kicks the generation gap aside and redefines the meaning of love and trust.
Crystal co-wrote the screenplay with his fellow Saturday Night Live alum and Emmy-award winning writer Alan Zweibel...
Here Today will mark Crystal’s eighth time directing and his third on a feature. It follows veteran comedy writer Charlie Burnz (Crystal), who is slowly but surely losing his grip on reality, befriends a talented young New York street singer Emma Payge (Haddish). Together, they form an unlikely yet hilarious and touching friendship that kicks the generation gap aside and redefines the meaning of love and trust.
Crystal co-wrote the screenplay with his fellow Saturday Night Live alum and Emmy-award winning writer Alan Zweibel...
- 10/7/2019
- by Amanda N'Duka
- Deadline Film + TV
Billy Crystal and Tiffany Haddish will star in and produce the independent comedy “Here Today,” with Crystal directing from a screenplay he co-wrote with Alan Zweibel.
“Here Today” is based on Zweibel’s short story “The Prize.” Crystal will portray a veteran comedy writer who is slowly but surely losing his grip on reality and befriends a talented young New York street singer, played by Haddish. Together, they form an unlikely friendship that kicks the generation gap aside and redefines the meaning of love and trust.
Rocket Science is handling international sales at the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival, while CAA will handle Us rights. Principal photography starts in New York in October.
Astute Films’ President Fred Bernstein made the announcement Wednesday. Besides Crystal and Haddish, producers are Bernstein, Zweibel and Dominique Telson. Rick Jackson, Claudine Marrotte and Samantha Sprecher will serve as executive producers. “Here Today” is a co-production between Astute Films,...
“Here Today” is based on Zweibel’s short story “The Prize.” Crystal will portray a veteran comedy writer who is slowly but surely losing his grip on reality and befriends a talented young New York street singer, played by Haddish. Together, they form an unlikely friendship that kicks the generation gap aside and redefines the meaning of love and trust.
Rocket Science is handling international sales at the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival, while CAA will handle Us rights. Principal photography starts in New York in October.
Astute Films’ President Fred Bernstein made the announcement Wednesday. Besides Crystal and Haddish, producers are Bernstein, Zweibel and Dominique Telson. Rick Jackson, Claudine Marrotte and Samantha Sprecher will serve as executive producers. “Here Today” is a co-production between Astute Films,...
- 9/4/2019
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Tiffany Haddish and Billy Crystal will star together in the Astute Films’ comedy Here Today, a project that the latter Saturday Night Live alum will co-write and direct.
Here Today is billed as a May/September romantic comedy – but without the romance. Crystal plays veteran comedy writer Charlie Berns, who is slowly but surely losing his grip on reality. He befriends a talented young New York street singer Emma Paige played by Haddish and they form an unlikely, touching friendship that defies the generation gap aside and redefines the meaning of love and trust.
Here Today marks Crystal’s eighth time directing and his third on a feature film following Mr. Saturday Night and Forget Paris, in which he also starred. Crystal directed the HBO film 61*, starring Barry Pepper and Thomas Jane in 2001 which earned him an Emmy and Director’s Guild Nomination as Best Director for a film made for television.
Here Today is billed as a May/September romantic comedy – but without the romance. Crystal plays veteran comedy writer Charlie Berns, who is slowly but surely losing his grip on reality. He befriends a talented young New York street singer Emma Paige played by Haddish and they form an unlikely, touching friendship that defies the generation gap aside and redefines the meaning of love and trust.
Here Today marks Crystal’s eighth time directing and his third on a feature film following Mr. Saturday Night and Forget Paris, in which he also starred. Crystal directed the HBO film 61*, starring Barry Pepper and Thomas Jane in 2001 which earned him an Emmy and Director’s Guild Nomination as Best Director for a film made for television.
- 9/4/2019
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Billy Crystal will direct and co-star with Tiffany Haddish in comedy Here Today.
Astute Films is behind the feature that follows veteran comedy writer Charlie Berns (Crystal), who, while slowly but surely losing his grip on reality befriends a talented young New York street singer Emma Paige (Haddish). Together, they form an unlikely — yet hilarious and touching — friendship that kicks the generation gap aside and redefines the meaning of love and trust.
Crystal co-wrote the screenplay with Saturday Night Live alum and Emmy-award winner Alan Zweibel, based on the latter's short story The Prize.
Crystal, Haddish and Zweibel will ...
Astute Films is behind the feature that follows veteran comedy writer Charlie Berns (Crystal), who, while slowly but surely losing his grip on reality befriends a talented young New York street singer Emma Paige (Haddish). Together, they form an unlikely — yet hilarious and touching — friendship that kicks the generation gap aside and redefines the meaning of love and trust.
Crystal co-wrote the screenplay with Saturday Night Live alum and Emmy-award winner Alan Zweibel, based on the latter's short story The Prize.
Crystal, Haddish and Zweibel will ...
Billy Crystal will direct and co-star with Tiffany Haddish in comedy Here Today.
Astute Films is behind the feature that follows veteran comedy writer Charlie Berns (Crystal), who, while slowly but surely losing his grip on reality befriends a talented young New York street singer Emma Paige (Haddish). Together, they form an unlikely — yet hilarious and touching — friendship that kicks the generation gap aside and redefines the meaning of love and trust.
Crystal co-wrote the screenplay with Saturday Night Live alum and Emmy-award winner Alan Zweibel, based on the latter's short story The Prize.
Crystal, Haddish and Zweibel will ...
Astute Films is behind the feature that follows veteran comedy writer Charlie Berns (Crystal), who, while slowly but surely losing his grip on reality befriends a talented young New York street singer Emma Paige (Haddish). Together, they form an unlikely — yet hilarious and touching — friendship that kicks the generation gap aside and redefines the meaning of love and trust.
Crystal co-wrote the screenplay with Saturday Night Live alum and Emmy-award winner Alan Zweibel, based on the latter's short story The Prize.
Crystal, Haddish and Zweibel will ...
CAA handles Us rights. Production set for New York in October.
Rocket Science will launch international sales in Toronto on Astute Films’ Here Today, which stars Billy Crystal and Tiffany Haddish and is described as a rom-com that tears up the rule book on the generational divide.
Crystal will direct from a screenplay he co-wrote with his fellow Saturday Night Live alum Alan Zweibel based on Zweibel’s short story The Prize.
Principal photography is set to begin in New York in October on Here Today, which redefines the meaning of love and trust as it follows a veteran comedy...
Rocket Science will launch international sales in Toronto on Astute Films’ Here Today, which stars Billy Crystal and Tiffany Haddish and is described as a rom-com that tears up the rule book on the generational divide.
Crystal will direct from a screenplay he co-wrote with his fellow Saturday Night Live alum Alan Zweibel based on Zweibel’s short story The Prize.
Principal photography is set to begin in New York in October on Here Today, which redefines the meaning of love and trust as it follows a veteran comedy...
- 9/4/2019
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Fred Berner, who directed the pilot for Dick Wolf’s FBI: Most Wanted, has signed a new deal as executive producer/director on the CBS series, slated to premiere in midseason.
Written by Wolf and Rene Balcer, the series is centered on the Fugitive Task Force of the FBI that tracks and captures the notorious criminals on the FBI’s Most Wanted list. Julian McMahon, Alana de la Garza, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Kellan Lutz, Roxy Sternberg and Nathaniel Arcand star.
Wolf and Balcer executive produce with Arthur W. Forney, Peter Jankowski and Berner.
In addition to directing the pilot for FBI: Most Wanted, Berner helmed NBC’s limited series The Menendez Murders, starring Edie Falco.
For the stage, Berner has directed the NY premieres of one-act plays by writers Warren Leight and Alan Zweibel. His short film adaption of Zweibel’s play Still Happy, starring Scott Adsit and Tom Wright,...
Written by Wolf and Rene Balcer, the series is centered on the Fugitive Task Force of the FBI that tracks and captures the notorious criminals on the FBI’s Most Wanted list. Julian McMahon, Alana de la Garza, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Kellan Lutz, Roxy Sternberg and Nathaniel Arcand star.
Wolf and Balcer executive produce with Arthur W. Forney, Peter Jankowski and Berner.
In addition to directing the pilot for FBI: Most Wanted, Berner helmed NBC’s limited series The Menendez Murders, starring Edie Falco.
For the stage, Berner has directed the NY premieres of one-act plays by writers Warren Leight and Alan Zweibel. His short film adaption of Zweibel’s play Still Happy, starring Scott Adsit and Tom Wright,...
- 7/1/2019
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Jay-z, the Killers, Chance the Rapper, Black Keys, Robert Plant, Halsey and Miley Cyrus are among the artists booked for Woodstock 50 as organizers revealed the Watkins Glen, New York festival’s full lineup.
Dead and Company, John Fogerty, Santana, John Sebastian, Country Joe Mcdonald, Canned Heat and Hot Tuna – all acts that took part in the 1969 festival – are all on the lineup for the festival, which takes place August 16th through 18th, the 50th anniversary of the original Woodstock.
Tickets for Woodstock 50 will go on sale April 22nd. Complete information...
Dead and Company, John Fogerty, Santana, John Sebastian, Country Joe Mcdonald, Canned Heat and Hot Tuna – all acts that took part in the 1969 festival – are all on the lineup for the festival, which takes place August 16th through 18th, the 50th anniversary of the original Woodstock.
Tickets for Woodstock 50 will go on sale April 22nd. Complete information...
- 3/19/2019
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
Robert De Niro may have been the target of the Donald Trump-supporting pipe bomb mailer, but that isn’t stopping the Oscar winner from trashing the president.
Just two days after playing Robert Mueller again on “Saturday Night Live,” De Niro zinged the commander-in-chief with more verbal zingers.
In presenting Billy Crystal with the Friars Club’s entertainment icon award on Monday night in New York City, De Niro first shouted, “F— Crystal!” as a wink to his condemnation of Trump at the Tony Awards earlier this year. “I just get so upset with that jerkoff in the White House,” he said, drawing boos from the crowd. “Boo is right! Down with this motherf—er!”
Though the “Raging Bull” star jokingly suggested Crystal should be president instead (“We’ve got a dangerous buffoon-in-chief. What we need is a heroic comedian-in-chief”), he concluded that Crystal’s inability to lie and...
Just two days after playing Robert Mueller again on “Saturday Night Live,” De Niro zinged the commander-in-chief with more verbal zingers.
In presenting Billy Crystal with the Friars Club’s entertainment icon award on Monday night in New York City, De Niro first shouted, “F— Crystal!” as a wink to his condemnation of Trump at the Tony Awards earlier this year. “I just get so upset with that jerkoff in the White House,” he said, drawing boos from the crowd. “Boo is right! Down with this motherf—er!”
Though the “Raging Bull” star jokingly suggested Crystal should be president instead (“We’ve got a dangerous buffoon-in-chief. What we need is a heroic comedian-in-chief”), he concluded that Crystal’s inability to lie and...
- 11/13/2018
- by Alex Barasch
- Variety Film + TV
With the year’s end “light at the end of the tunnel” in sight, 2018’s parade of distinguished feature documentaries marches on with another “crowd-pleaser” bringing up the rear. Cinemas have been host to truly exceptional works of non-fiction filmmaking. This week’s release joins the impressive list of the “celebrity showbiz profile” sub-genre that includes the box office hit Won’T You Be My Neighbor along with Whitney, McQueen, and Quincy. Though music doesn’t play as big a role in this subject’s life as in several of these films, she made her greatest cultural impact on television, just as Neighbor’s Fred Rogers. Oh, and her works were much more “adult” in nature, While Rogers was a daytime TV king to countless kids, she was the first real “queen of late-night TV comedy”. And while she’s been gone for nearly three decades, her influence seems to be felt now,...
- 9/21/2018
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
It’s no easy task to find a fresh way to approach a familiar face like comedian Gilda Radner, but director Lisa D’Apolito does a wonderful job ushering us through the highs and lows of the beloved icon’s life in her documentary “Love, Gilda.”
D’Apolito worked directly with Radner’s estate, and was lucky to have access to a trove of personal information. Despite the fact that this is her first feature film, she uses her archival sources with uncommon dexterity.
Home movies introduce us to a little girl who’s always mugging for the camera, a trait that continues into and after high school and college. We travel with Radner while she moves to Toronto, makes her debut in “Godspell,” and dates an equally mischievous Martin Short.
Also Read: 'House With a Clock in Its Walls' Film Review: Eli Roth Directs a Fun, Family-Friendly Halloween Frolic...
D’Apolito worked directly with Radner’s estate, and was lucky to have access to a trove of personal information. Despite the fact that this is her first feature film, she uses her archival sources with uncommon dexterity.
Home movies introduce us to a little girl who’s always mugging for the camera, a trait that continues into and after high school and college. We travel with Radner while she moves to Toronto, makes her debut in “Godspell,” and dates an equally mischievous Martin Short.
Also Read: 'House With a Clock in Its Walls' Film Review: Eli Roth Directs a Fun, Family-Friendly Halloween Frolic...
- 9/19/2018
- by Elizabeth Weitzman
- The Wrap
It’s the Gilda Radner grin that really gets you — always radiant, sometimes childishly goofy, occasionally maniacal. You see it a lot in Love, Gilda, the documentary on the late Saturday Night Live star. There it is, in snapshots of her as chubby kid in Detroit and as a teenager at the all-girls school where she discovered theater. It shows up in her early days at Toronto — she followed a sculptor who she was in love with there — when she fell in with the Second City crowd, and her first move to New York,...
- 9/19/2018
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
Love, Gilda CNN Films Reviewed by: Harvey Karten Director: Lisa D’Apolito Cast: Chevy Chase, Bill Hader, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Martin Short, Melissa McCarthy, Lorne Michaels, Paul Shaffer, Cecily Strong, Laraine Newman, Rose Abdoo Alan Zweibel Screened at: Park Ave., NYC, Sept. 10, 2018 Opens: September 21, 2018 Life is easy. Comedy is hard. That’s […]
The post Love, Gilda Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Love, Gilda Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 9/16/2018
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
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