1, Comedy Hero: Robert Townsend
To be honest, I don't know much about Robert Townsend. I vaguely remember him when I was kid growing up. But I was reminded of his great influence by a dear old comedy buddy of mine, Jason Miles, who reveres his work. One day Jason asked me, "Do you know Robert Townsend?" I squinted my eyes shut and grimaced a little as I tried to recall the name.
"Yyyyeaah, kinda."
"Kinda?" Jason scoffed and rolled his eyes. "You better recognize!"
My ego immediately dwarfed ten sizes.
It was THAT conversation which inspired this very post.
Let's begin, shall we?
Robert Townsend was another stand-up comedian to make his mark in the 80s. He was so successful in stand-up that he later was offered a contract with Saturday Night Live, only to have his position replaced by Eddie Murphy.
Townsend was the first when it came to bringing the uncomfortable race-based issues (more specifically black issues) to the mainstream. And he did it cleverly, not "in-your-face" like other black comedians were doing at the time.
He brought to the forefront the subtleties of racism in the entertainment industry--what the average person (the viewer) didn't see going on behind the scenes. And Townsend chose to tell the untold story in a comedic manner. It's hard enough to "make it" as an actor. Townsend decided it was time (even so late in the 80s) to show how much harder it is to make it as a black actor, by profiling the casting process, writing lines, and the general buffoonery backstage.
We (the audience) were barely seeing black people in Hollywood but definitely never hearing about the "behind-the-scenes". He gave a black voice and put his comedic spin on situation after situation, most of it stemming from his real life experiences.
He probably was the most influential with regards to black sketch comedy and black commentary on politics issues. Before there was The Boondocks, Chappelle's Show, before there was In Living Color, there was Hollywood Shuffle.
2, My Boss My HeroName: My Boss My Hero
Genre: Comedy, Drama, School Life
Year: 2006
Rating: Must See
The leader of the Kantou Sharp Fang family (Yakuza) is a strong 27 year old young master named Sakaki Makio. He loves fighting, smoking, women, alcohol and especially pudding. However he dropped out of highschool due to his ongoing poor academic results. In other words he is dumb or as others prefer to label him a “baka” (idiot). With an extremely bad temper one that is nearly as bad as his kanji Makio tries his best to lead the gang but fails whenever intelligence is required. His father the current boss gives Makio a chance, if he is able to go to high school and graduate he will be given the title of the 3rd generation boss. Of course while attending high school Makio must not have his identity revealed which means he will lose all the benifits of being a master that he is used to.
This j-drama is a favorite of mine. I actually enjoyed this more than GTO, although both have the same genre of delinquents going to high school, My Boss My Hero has its own special qualities. I found this series kept me entertained and full of laughs. If your looking for comedy in a live-action this can’t be passed. What is different between this series compared to GTO and Gokusen is that the Yakuza side of the story is more prevalent and also because it is the student who is the delinquent shaping the class there is more social interaction between him and his fellow classmates. I guess what I’m trying to say is that the main character Makio is on the same level as the other students which allows him to interact and create several awkward yet amusing situations
3, Trivia, facts and fiction
Northolt is not the most well known of places in London but did you know...
The popular BBC comedy series My Hero featuring Ardal O'Hanlon and Emily Joyce was set in Northolt! The series was produced from 2000 - 2006.
4, Korea, 1724. Once upon a time in the Joseon Dynasty, Chun-doong (Lee Jung-jae) meets a beautiful woman while in the middle of a fight in an old market. Having fallen in love at first sight, good fortune is with him and he finds her once again. Her name is Seol-ji (Kim Ok-bin) and she works as a gisaeng, a Korean traditional singing and dancing girl. They spend a memorable
night together but Chun-doong loses her again when she moves to work at another bar. When he finds her new hiding place, however, he is warned away by her new manager, Man-deuk (Kim Suk-hoon) who has connections in the city’s underworld. One day, while still despondent without Seol-ji in his life, he accidentally knocks over and kills the boss of the Jjak-gwi gang. Before he knows it, because of his fighting skills Chun-doong becomes the replacement boss. Soon, there is
a gathering of the region’s gang bosses at the bar where Seol-ji now works. In the middle of the meeting, Chun-doong causes a disturbance to steal Seol-ji away under the nose of Man-deuk. The meeting turns into chaos because of the incident and ends abruptly. A furious Man-deuk teams up with rival gangsters to plot the downfall of the Jjak-gwi gang… Notes: 1) The movie is based on the gangster culture of the Joseon Dynasty (18th Century). 2) The fight that occurs in the gisaeng house is based on an actual fight that occurred in 1724 at a gisaeng house. 3) Ok-bin Kim took two months of traditional dancing lessons to prepare for her role as a gisaeng
5, Hero Showdown: Cartman vs. StewieJuly 6, 2009 - Recently, IGN Stars ran a poll to determine which Hero Showdown match-up you wanted to see next. We can't say we're surprised as to the results. Today's battle features two of the most popular young heroes in the history of animated sitcoms.
Of course, calling them "heroes" is a bit of a stretch, as both have shown themselves to be evil through and through. Today's Hero Showdown pits South Park's Eric Cartman against Family Guy's Stewie Griffin. Both are extra crass beyond their years. Both have caused untold suffering to their respective family members and townsfolk. Now the time has come for these evil tyrants to direct their malice against each other.
Cast your vote for the winner of this bloody battle and let us know your thoughts by posting in the comments section below. And also tell us who you want the winner of this particular battle to square off against next. Can anyone survive their wrath?
Eric Cartman is an evil little boy who lives in South Park, Colorado. Despite being only 10-years-old, Cartman has gotten exceedingly good at being racist, sexist, homophobic and basically a bigot in every way imaginable. Thanks to his overly protective and doting mother, Cartman gives new meaning to the term "spoiled child".
But Cartman isn't just mean to others, he's downright sadistic at times. He has proven time and time again that no one can cross him and survive unscathed. Just ask poor Scott Tenorman. After a pubic hair-related prank went bad, Cartman retaliated by tricking Scott into eating his own parents and embarrassing himself in front of Radiohead. Tenorman can still be seen sobbing over his parents' graves day in and day out.
And let's not forget that Cartman already has a particular vendetta against the cast of Family Guy. His loathing for that show was so great, that Cartman traveled all the way to California and nearly succeeded in getting Family Guy taken off the air.
Cartman is not a physical fighter. He's fat, lazy, and can't even defend himself against the girls at school. But his soul is as black as the void. There have been those who have embarrassed or ridiculed Cartman in the past. But in the end, his revenge was sweet
6, Red Mullet and CowBoy”
Synopsis:
Red Mullet & CowBoy is a super-hero action comedy in which two community college students in rural Western Kentucky decide one day to become super-heroes on a budget.
Jes White/Red Mullet is an 21 year old Iraq War Vet that is back practically fresh from the war-zone, and with one less leg to boot (pun intended) thanks to a roadside bomb. Bobby Bovine/CowBoy is a 14 year old advanced placement student & local Science whiz that has just enrolled in the local community college after finishing high school at 13. The two meet on campus & decide to do something about a recent surge in crime due to the growing local & regional meth epidemic. They become & form the team of Red Mullet & CowBoy. Jes selects his alter ego of Red Mullet because of his obvious unique hairstyle (a.k.a: "The Kentucky Waterfall"). Bobby, being the son of a local dairy farmer, becomes CowBoy because of his respect and loyalty to the animal that has provided for and fed his family for generations.
With the help of Red Mullet's grandfather, Pap-Paw Lonnie (who raised Jes himself and is also a grizzled old war Vet), they begin training on the extra acres of his farm using some of his unconventional training methods. He also helps them build an array of low budget weapons in his garage. Red Mullet employs items such as ropes, stun gun/tazer, ball bearings, pepper spray, smoke bombs, lock picks, survival knife, and his trademark roll of duct tape to wrap up the bad guys. Bobby's weapons of choice are a slingshot, a 10,000 volt cattle prod, and also uses different combinations of chemicals that squirt different types of milky goo from each individual "udder" depending on what the situation calls for. Both of them also stay in constant touch with each other & Pap-Paw Lonnie when they're in the field via walkie-talkie headsets.
Armed with a variety of jimmy-rigged weapons and gadgets that they make from items bought from the local hardware store, the tough-as-nails young Vet & the local Science nerd start moonlighting as heroes to combat increased criminal activity in their county as well as the neighboring ones. They set out to take down meth labs & makers only to also find out along the way that Western Kentucky also has a major werewolf infestation. Upon learning this, they adapt & start setting up plays to capture the local Lycanthropes. They also build an underground bunker with cages to house the werewolves that come to stay overnight before they transform so they won't hurt anyone. Of course there are those that won't come willingly...including one of the main meth makers/ring leaders in the county. The 6'7" 300 lb. man-mountain, Ott. To make matters worse for our heroes, an alien in the form of an intergalactic zoo catcher has also just landed in Kentucky that is bent on capturing a few werewolves for his traveling exhibit. Things get even more complicated for them when the alien himself gets infected by a werewolf bite, which creates a creature that has never existed anywhere before.
Can these heroes do something about all this...or are they in over their heads?
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Artist's statement to the good folks @ Platinum Studios:
Since pitching this concept at the CBC '06, these guys have gone through a lot of changes.
The protagonist has been made younger, the character designs have been re-conceived, and I feel that the art in general has also evolved and is much improved from the old version. I've also had 2 years to redevelop and fine tune the story & concept since that time. A supporting cast of both super-powered good & bad guys have been designed and will also be introduced along the way. Most of which are "wannabe" local heroes that are inspired by hearing about RM & CB actually starting to make a difference. The others are much more powerful baddies to come...most of which find new powers and abilities from their encounters with escaped aliens that were captive in the traveling alien zoo in the form of symbiotes, bites, and even inter-breeding with some of Kentucky's indigenous wildlife. A lot of other development has been done on RM & CB. Including a new cover, more pages than these 3 that I'm also extremely proud of, concept sketches of their surroundings, and even a live action movie poster and teaser trailer.
You can find samples of all this on my MySpace page @ www.myspace.com/jaychuppe.
To my knowledge there's also still nothin' like this out there,
& I want their home to be Platinum Studios.
Thanks again for you time & hopefully consideration!
7, Director Judd Aptow tells how he got hero's autograph.
The Huffington Post ran this hilarious story about the time Judd Aptow met Steve Martin when he was a kid:
NEW YORK — Judd Apatow, writer and director of comedy hits "Knocked Up" and "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," is doubtless already a hero to kids who want to break into film or comedy. But once, he was just a kid dying for the autograph of his own hero, Steve Martin.
Apatow regaled an audience at the New Yorker Festival this weekend with the tale of how, on vacation in California as a boy, he had spotted Martin washing his car in front of his home.
The young Apatow jumped out of the car and asked for an autograph, but Martin said he didn't give autographs at his home. "Please, we won't tell anyone," Apatow begged. Sorry, Martin said, but no.
So Apatow went home and wrote Martin a nasty letter, in which he gave an early glimpse of his now well-documented talent for profanity. Three months later, he received a package from Martin that contained a copy of his book "Cruel Shoes."
I'm sorry," read Martin's inscription. "I didn't realize I was speaking to THE Judd Apatow.
--
Hmmm, maybe if Steve Martin had been nicer to THE Judd Aptow, he could have possibly been written into one of his movies. Lord knows it would have helped Martin's career - it's been over a decade since he appeared in anything remotely funny.
I've never understood this kind of behavior from celebrities. It reminds me of a time my brother's friend worked at a golf course in Raleigh when Michael Jordan showed up. Jordan refused to shake this kid's hand, and would not give him an autograph even though my brother's friend was wearing Jodan shoes, a t-shirt, and cologne. That's probably more than $300 in merchandise all sold on the basis of Mr. Space Jam himself, and the dude would not endorse a piece of paper with his signature. So long as there was a pen and paper, it really shouldn't be a problem, if you asked me. Celebrities like Martin typically avoid soul-crushing jobs (unless you count Martin's sequel to Cheaper By the Dozen), and if that means their greatest hassle in life is to be asked for autographs, so be it. Beats working at McDonald's.
8, OLD IS COLDSame shtick, different setting – isn’t it time Akshay Kumar moved on to something else?
JUL 5, 2009 – HOW WOULD YOU KNOW IF YOU’RE among the card-carrying legions of Akshay Kumar fans who transformed the actor from action hero to comedy superstar? (He returns to his roots in this comedy by playing an action hero: a stuntman.) I suppose the indication would come early on in Sabbir Khan’s Kambakkht Ishq (reworked from the okayish Tamil comedy Pammal K Sambandham, with Kamal Hassan), if you find you can survive the wedding of Lucky (Aftab Shivdasani) and Kamini (Amrita Arora), a cuddly-wuddly ceremony accompanied by exchanges of “my wabbit” and “my tweety.” For you, then, is this movie made. As for me, I experienced what I usually do in an Akshay Kumar laughathon: there’s always a of law of inverse proportionality at work, which dictates that the more the public adores it, the more I have to resist the impulse to find a quiet corner and blow my brains out.
Tashan and Chandni Chowk to China were hardly successful films – not (entirely) artistically, and certainly not commercially – but they were at least borne along by minor-league ambition, even if that goal was to simply execute jazzy riffs on once-upon-a-time movies. At their core, there was something beyond just scene after trying scene attempting to up the noise quotient under the guise of humour. But after those flops, Akshay is back to upping the noise quotient. If size matters in the case of Kambakkht Ishq, it isn’t bigger that’s better but louder – not only is every actor instructed to perform as if on stage and playing to an exclusive audience of the hearing-impaired, it’s also the sheer volume of the slapstick, which at times assumes the shape of a bludgeon. Towering over you like a giant bully, the film practically dares the unimpressed not to laugh.
The tragedy of this comedy is that it could have delivered genuine laughs had it merely followed up on its battle-of-the-sexes premise. Viraj (Akshay Kumar) loves women but hates commitment. Simrita (Kareena Kapoor, in her unbearably supercilious “Poo” mode) hates men and, subsequently, hates commitment. There is, therefore, the mild anticipation of the inevitably old-fashioned trajectory of Viraj and Simrita moving from hate to love. They meet, for the first time, at the aforementioned wedding, where he is aghast that Lucky has gotten hitched, and she expresses similar sentiments about Kamini. It’s only a while before they begin sniping at each other. “Dog,” she hisses at him. “Bitch,” he barks back. “Ah, true love,” we sigh, and settle down for this apparently mismatched couple to realise that they are, in reality, perfectly matched.
9, This Person Businessman
10, Sexy Girl Maddeling
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