Comedy Central exits Germany

The media firm's MTV Networks Germany unit is shutting down a local version of Comedy Central just two years after its launch. Comedy Central Germany will be folded together with kids channel NICK, starting next year.

Hit Nickelodeon shows including "Dora the Explorer" and "SpongeBob SquarePants" will be shown during the day, with more mature programing including "Futurama" and "Dharma and Greg" as well as Comedy Central's own "The Daily Show" and "South Park" filling up the evening slots.

Comedy Central has been struggling in Germany since its much-ballyhooed debut in 2006. Instead of branding itself as cutting edge, the German channel aired reruns of decidedly mainstream sitcoms like "The Golden Girls."

The channel also killed the jokes, in the opinion of many local TV critics, by dubbing such cult shows "Seinfeld" as "The Sarah Silverman Program" into German.

Jerry Lewis on retirement

These days, the King of Comedy is graying at the temples and sometimes a little wobbly on his feet. But don't ask him about retirement.

"A break? No, why? You got something better to do?" Jerry Lewis told a reporter Friday who asked if the 82-year-old entertainer was contemplating leaving the stage after more than 50 years of performing. "Show me somewhere better than this and I'll consider it."

Lewis was fronting a news conference in Sydney to promote his latest stage show, a retrospective of his career that includes show tunes with a 24-piece band, excerpts from his scores of movies and television shows, and his trademark slapstick comedy.

As he walked onto a small stage at a luxury hotel for Friday's news conference, Lewis lost his balance on the stairs and ended up stumbling slightly toward a reporter on the floor. Without missing a beat, and true to ad-libbing form, Lewis grabbed the reporter's hand and started pumping it, saying, "How do you do?"

"Don't you understand that when you croak, it's for a ve-e-e-e-ry long time," Lewis said later when asked about retirement. "So you want to get in as much activity as you can before you go."

Another topic the entertainer doesn't give much time to? The U.S. presidential election.

"Everybody talks about politicians — I don't do it because I do comedy already," he said, declining to comment on either Barack Obama or John McCain. "There's nothing fun about it."

Comedy Guru's Demise is a Tragedy - Entertainment - redOrbit

"THE death of Geoffrey Perkins has left a huge gap in the world of British television. He was one of the greatest comedy producers of the last 20 years and his death on Friday in a road accident, at the age of just 55, is a blow that will be felt right across my industry.

Geoffrey was the original producer of Father Ted. Later, as head of comedy for the BBC, he was responsible for countless hits such as The Fast Show, Catherine Tate, My Family, Coupling and 2 Pints of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps.

Before that he worked in radio, where he produced The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."

ESCAPED CONVICT

ESCAPED CONVICT... A man escapes from prison where he has been for 15 years.

He breaks into a house to look for money and guns and finds a young couple in bed.

He orders the guy out of the bed and ties him to a chair while tying the girl to the bed, he gets on top of her, kisses her neck, then gets up and goes into the bathroom.

While he's in there, the husband whispers to his wife, 'Listen, this guy's an escaped convict – look at his clothes! He probably spent lots of time in jail and hasn't seen a woman in years.

I saw how he kissed your neck.

If he wants sex, don't resist, don't complain, do whatever he tells you.

Satisfy him no matter how much he nauseates you.

This guy is probably very dangerous... If he gets angry, he'll kill us.

Be strong, honey. I love you.

To which the wife responds, 'He wasn't kissing my neck. He was whispering in my ear.

He told me he was gay, thinks you're cute, and asked if we had any Vaseline.

I told him it was in the bathroom.

Be strong, honey. I love you, too.

International Shortlist In Fringe Comedy Awards (from The Herald )

Read More Here: "A variety of international comics have made the shortlist for this year's comedy awards at the Fringe.

Irish comic David O'Doherty was listed for his 'effortless charm with song', Americans Kristen and Kurt were praised for their 'unique, quirky double-act', Double Down Hearts, and Welshman Rhod Gilbert impressed with a 'perfectly structured, gag-packed show'.

The fourth comedian on the shortlist was English stand-up Russell Kane whose show judges declared to be a 'brilliantly energetic celebration of family, relationships and life's imperfections'."

About our courses - Amused Moose stand up comedy

Read More Here: "Stand Up And Deliver's Absolute & Almost Beginners comedy courses in LONDON are usually on 12 weekday evenings, or 8 afternoons on Saturdays or Sundays.
Occasionally these are delivered in 'Intensive/Compact' format over four weekends which are popular with people who live a long way from London, as well as those who can't commit to attending for two or three months, or are want to complete a quality course in record-breaking time!

In August 2008 there will be ACME Comedy Writing Course, during the Edinburgh Fringe"

Thousands attend service to celebrate life of Bernie Mac

Read More Here: "“He’s still the hottest ticket in town,” fellow ‘King,’ Cedric the Entertainer, told a legion of fans, friends and relatives of Bernard Jeffery McCullough–Bernie Mac–Saturday during a public memorial service at a South Side church for the sharp-witted comedian.

Bernie Mac succumbed to complications of pneumonia Aug. 9."

Creative Loafing Tampa | Film | Outtakes Brief | See Cruz (and more)

Read More Here: "BOTTLE SHOCK (PG-13) Another movie that begins by telling us it’s “based on a true story,” Bottle Shock doesn’t play as fast and loose with facts as some, but it doesn’t hesitate to throw in a made-up romance or two and some trusty father-son tensions to embellish its essentially accurate account of the landmark event that finally gave American wines the respect they deserved."

Fresh Intelligence : Radar Online : Breaking News: Woody Allen Has Made Lots Of Mediocre Movies

Read More Here: "The good news for Woody Allen is that people really like Vicky Cristina Barcelona. The 83 percent it has on Rotten Tomatoes is his highest since 1997's Everyone Says I Love You. But the bad news is, though reviewers are writing positive reviews VCR, they keep reminding Allen how much he sucks. Apparently he's been making a bunch of mediocre movies for the past couple decades. Did you know that? These people sure did:

'Watching Woody Allen's annual offering is a kind of ritual, like a trip to the dentist—and over the past decade, the pain level has been alarmingly high.'—Time Out NY"

Hongkie Town Reducked: Letters, we get letters

Read More Here: "Seems in the past couple of weeks the amount of spam hitting my business email box has drastically increased. There's been about 150 messages promising debt consolidation plans or loans in the past 3 days alone. And dozens of bogus news alerts from CNN and MSNBC. Some of the message subject headers are seriously creative and a lot more interesting looking than my normal email. These include:

* Breaking News: Bush Finally Reads Job Description
* Breaking News: Cranberries CD Cures Woman's Urinary Tract Infection
* Breaking News: Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse Split, Pestilence to Go Solo
* Breaking News: History Channel Begins Incorporating Product Placements Into History
* Breaking News: John Edwards Admits Fathering Clay Aiken's Baby
* Breaking News: McCain Opposes Gay Adoption of Highways
* Breaking News: McCain Serenades Gramm: '50 Ways to Leave Your Hoover'
* Breaking News: Report: Fate of 'Ross and Rachel' Used to Torture Iraqi Prisoners
* Breaking News: South Carolina Sinking - Gov. Implores Obese Citizens to 'Exercise For It
* Breaking News: Three Italian College Students Purchase Kansas City Royals for 500 Euros"

BREAKING NEWS: Mike Myers joins “Inglorious Bastards”!!!!! � The Brock N’ Roll Blog

Read More Here: "Oh my! Another shocking casting addition to Quentin Tarantino’s WWII flick “Inglorious Bastards”! Yes, you heard that right! The Waynes World, Austin Powers and the Love Guru star, Mike Myers will star alongside Brad Pitt in “Bastards”.

Myers will play British General Ed Fenech, a military mastermind who’s mission to plot out a plan to destroy Nazis.

Variety Reports:

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117990590.html?categoryid=13&cs=1

Myers going for something that is not a comedy film this time. Like Myers will have to speak an English accent and knowing how good he is at creating different voices when he speaks, I think that’s the reason alone Tarantino wanted him for the film.

This is an interesting cast so far.

Still no confirmation on Sly Stallone yet, but if anything, I’ll still see the movie in theater even if Sly isn’t in it or not ’cause I love Tarantino flicks."

Bad Timing - Calendar

Read More Here: "Laughter may not always be the best medicine. There are many times when comedic relief is called for, but, perhaps an even larger number of times, when cracking a joke makes you look like a total ass. Here is a list of times when that joke you’ve been dying to tell just shouldn’t make its way out of your mouth.

AT A FUNERAL

This is one dark mood you don’t necessarily need to lighten. While it might make you feel better joking about how the deceased’s toupee looks like a new breed of toxically-mutated rat, you might just want to keep that one to yourself.

DURING A WEDDING

It might be tempting in a moment of tense silence to make some joke about the lap dance the groom got at his bachelor’s party or about that time long ago when you slept with the bride after a night of crazy drinking; do everyone a favor – don’t."

Robert Downey Jr. Says Dad Inspired 'Tropic Thunder' Performance - Movie News Story | MTV Movie News

Read More Here: "By now you probably know that 'Tropic Thunder' stars some of Hollywood's biggest stars — from Jack Black to Ben Stiller, from Tom Cruise to Tobey Maguire — all willing to send up their own images for a laugh. You may also have heard that none of them is being talked about with as much acclaim as Robert Downey Jr., who plays Kirk Lazarus, a multiple-Oscar winner so committed to his craft that he literally transforms into a black man to portray a Vietnam solder in the film within the film. His performance is different, you hear, satirical and all in good fun. But you're worried, of course, because Downey isn't the first white man to play an African-American in recent cinema, and those portrayals don't always turn out so well.

But did you know that he's not even the first person in his own family to take on such a role? In crafting Lazarus, Downey says he owes a lot to his father, who directed a blaxploitation film nearly 40 years ago called 'Putney Swope,' about a black ad executive who ends up running the entire agency. Because Arnold Johnson, the actor portraying Swope, had trouble remembering his lines, Robert Downey Sr. dubbed his own voice over Johnson's during post-production."

Emmy Wrap: Writer/Director

Read More Here: "The creative sting wrought by the 100-day WGA strike hit the industry hard, but perhaps nowhere more acutely than the Primetime Emmy nominations for writing and directing, where the truncated seasonal output for comedy and drama series resulted in a greatly reduced pool of potential submissions -- and a somewhat unusual list of nominees. Somehow, none of this seems to worry the chosen ones."

Breaking down stereotypes with humor - Bennington Banner

Read More Here: "In an interfaith comedy event, the First Baptist Church will host Muslim comic Azhar Usman and Jewish comedian Bob Alper on Sunday, Aug. 17.

'Breaks down barriers'

'It breaks down barriers,' Alper said of their show. 'You can't laugh with somebody and then hate them.'

Alper, 63, lives in East Dorset. Now a full-time comedian, he holds a doctorate from Princeton Theological Seminary and served as a rabbi for 14 years. His wife, Sherri, a psychotherapist, is a Bennington native.

Usman, 32, is from Chicago. His parents are immigrants from India. He received a law degree from the University of Illinois in 1999. He moved from moderate success as a dotcom entrepreneur to practicing law and doing standup comedy on the side. Eventually, he dropped law and picked up comedy full time.

One of the most prominent Muslim comedians in the U.S., Usman was the subject of a whole episode of the television news program 'Nightline.'

He is also an actor and filmmaker, and recently served as executive producer of a short film called 'The Boundary.'

The two men are friends and work together for about 20 shows a year, a number that is increasing. However, they avoid talking about politics when they're together, Alper said.

Alper and Usman don't perform together on stage in the classic comic and straight-man"