The Anvil - Comedy News

Derrick Comedy to Screen Mystery Team

Did you miss Derrick Comedy's surprise screening of its first feature-length film, Mystery Team, all the way back in October? Don't feel bad. You can still say you were one of the first to see it. How's that? Well, you could lie. Or you could watch it now. Yeah, seriously.

Derrick is going to be screening Mystery Team today, March 3, and Wednesday, March 4 at 6:30 PM at Cinema Village in the trendy East Village area. You're going to be there anyway aren't you, you hipster? You know by heart that it's at 22 E 12th Street. So no need to put that info in here, is there?

So go see this hilarious movie. Tickets are free, but are on a first come, first serve basis. (Still, I'm going to dress cute and show up late and hope I get in anyways. If you got it, flaunt it.)

The movie doesn't have any distribution yet, that we know of. But the movie, which debuted at Sundance in January, is too funny and too well made not to get some kind of deal. Enjoy the trailer, below, and go out and see the movie.

– JMan

Woody's Back!

Not in the making-good-films sense -- in that sense he's been back since Vicky Christina Barcelona. No, Woody is finally back in New York City. Allen's latest film, Whatever Works, is his first film to take place in New York City since 2004's Melinda and Melinda. And us New Yorkers will get to view the film before anyone else, as it's set to open the Tribeca Film Festival on April 22, according to The Huffington Post.

Woody's movies have been alternating recently from really good to insanely bad. Match Point was followed by the unbearable Scoop. So who knows how good this one will be? It has Larry David, who is a slightly younger Jew than Woody. So maybe the writing will translate well.  No matter what, I always look forward to seeing what Woody has to offer every year.

– JMan

Comedy Highlight of the Week: Sweet Show

Comedian Seth Herzog's popular weekly show, Sweet, turns 200 this week and if you've never been before, this Tuesday would be a good time to start. Tomorrow's line-up includes some great comics for the bicentennial show. Some of the performers this week are:

• Janene Garofalo - A woman that needs no introduction. Wasn't she awesome in Mystery Men?


• Jon Glaser - One of my favorite comics. Don't sit in the front row or you might get a "glinger." Basically what he calls zingers. Only funny.


• Frank Whaley - Yes, that Frank Whaley from the Target movie and the scared dude in School of Rock. He's actually funny I guess.

There will also be some special guests and an appearance by Seth Herzog's mom. So this Tuesday, March 3 at 9 head down to the Slipper Room on the corner of Orchard and Stanton. Here, for your viewing pleasure is Seth Herzog in an episode of ESPN'S Mayne Street. He's the guy on the toilet.

Funny stuff.

– JMan

Derrick Comedy at Sundance

  

Derrick Comedy flick Mystery Team, which debuted at Sundance last week, has been getting rave reviews, but mysteriously doesn't have a distribution deal yet. Keep the faith though, we have no doubt it will.

Click below to see Collider.com's two-part Sundance interview with the members of Derrick, whom you may recognize from 30 Rock, the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, or YouTube (in order of appearance above): DC Pierson, Donald Glover, Dan Eckman, Dominic Dierkes, and Meggie McFadden.

Death by Roo Roo, Cage Match Champs

Death By Roo Roo was declared the champion of Cage Match 2008 last night at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre after beating the Stepfathers by 39 votes.

It was a tough battle -- the Stepfathers had a great show, but, after receiving the movie-line suggestion "I used to f*** guys like you in prison," from the movie Road House, how could Roo Roo go wrong?

However, it's unclear whether all 120 audience members who voted for Roo Roo were voting out of enthusiasm for their show or out of desperation to save Roo Roo member Adam Pally -- Curtis Gwinn had suggested prior to their scene that Pally, who was missing last night, might meet an untimely demise if Roo Roo didn't claim victory.

It was a little of both for me.

Cage Match starts up again next week with Hot Sauce vs. Bastian.

– Erin

New Trend: Brits Bomb at Award Shows

We all remember the heat Russell Brand got for making fun of (gasp!) Bush and (double gasp!) the Jonas Brothers at the MTV Awards. Now, comics Ricky Gervais and Sascha Baron Cohen have bombed at Sunday night's Golden Globes, at least according to the Mail Online.

"I told you, do a Holocaust movie and the awards come, didn’t I?" Gervais said to award-winner Kate Winslet, referencing her guest appearance on his show Extras.

"Trouble is with Holocaust films is there’s never any gag reel on the DVDs," he added a moment later to the awkward crowd, who, let's face it, was probably still trying to figure out who he was.

Every time one of these Brits makes a omigod-he's-super-mean joke, you can see the aghast celebrities in the audience. Watch the video below, to see Salma Hayek and Sandra Bullock look unimpressed with Cohen.

– Erin

Pegg and Frost to Star in 3-D Tintin Movie

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have been cast to star as detective duo Thompson and Thomson in a movie version of The Adventures of Tintin, which was originally a comic strip and later became a cartoon some of you may barely remember watching after school on Nickelodeon.

The 3-D film will be shot in motion-capture (think The Polar Express or Gollum in LOTR). The whole joke with Thompson and Thomson is that they are unrelated yet identical, so I am betting they will have to do some serious CGI work to make Pegg and Frost look like twins (see picture at left and compare it to the one on the right).

Motion-capture vet Andy Serkis has already been cast as Tintin's friend Captain Haddock. Boyish journalist Tintin himself hasn't yet been cast -- they were originally going to get Thomas Sangster (Liam Neeson's adorable lovestruck stepson in Love Actually), but he had to drop out when filming was delayed. 

My mind is a bit fuzzy on the details of the original cartoon, but Steven Spielberg is directing, Peter Jackson is producing, and Steven Moffat (BBC's Coupling) is writing. And that's good enough for me.

Filming starts this February, with the film due out in 2010. They're already planning a sequel, which Jackson may direct.

– Erin

UCB Theatre to Get New Performace Space?

According to New York Magazine the Upright Citizens Brigade will be opening a new theater right where the old Two Boots Pioneer Theater used to be on Third Avenue. Now to anyone who has been going to the UCB Theatre the last few years, it's no surprise to hear that the not-so-friendly neighbors have been trying to kick UCB out of the neighborhood. This new theater opening does not necessarily mean the cranky old people have been successful -- after all Chuck McMahon defeated Steve Gristedes for the deed to the UCBW Arena.

This new theater in the East Village will apparently be more sketch oriented, allowing for more performers to get on the stage while giving a place for the lower-draw shows to grow and possibly allowing for more extended runs of the successful ones.

What do you think of the new theater and its location, Anvil readers?

– JMan

Best, Worst & Meh Comedies of 2008

Well 2008 will be officially over in a few short hours here, so it's time to reflect on what were supposed to be the funniest movies of the year. All things considered, it was a down year for comedy. Last year we had two movies that instantly became my favorite movies in Hot Fuzz and Knocked Up, as well as several other good comedies.

This year, after looking at the list of comedies, it was hard to come up with much after the top three. So without further ado, here are the best, the worst, and the movies that just weren't quite good enough, but could've been better.

Weekly Calendar: Longest Harold Night, Bobby Moynihan, Gethard's Magic Box of Stories, Cage-Match, God's Pottery, and more!

The holiday season is in full swing so that means only one thing, go see some comedy to avoid all the shoppers. A lot of good options this week too.

Tuesday December 16th

• Longest Harold Night of the Year. Go to the UCB Theatre and see all 8 UCB Harold Teams preform for your delight. 8 Harolds for 5 bucks. Each Harold cost you 62 and a half cents. That's bang for your buck!
• The Sweet Show in Brooklyn hosted by Seth Herzog usually has a lot of good guests, and today is no exception. Go to the Slipper Room at the SW corner of Orchard and Stanton tonight at 8:30 and see God's Pottery with Jessi Klein and Andre Dubouchet and some other "special guests."

See this week's full schedule after the jump...