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» The AST News Team
Editorial Director:
Matt Belknap [PM]

Senior Editor:
Sean Ingram [PM]

Associate Editors:
Mark Kiely [PM]
Jake Wolfson [PM]

Contributing Editors:
Bill Brasky [PM]
Tom Hicks [PM]

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» Current Poll
Do you care that The State DVD contains re-dubbed dialogue and new music?
Yes I do - 54.29%
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No I do not - 45.71%
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Total Votes: 35
You may not vote on this poll.
» Stats
Members: 3,703
Threads: 3,442
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Top Poster: Jouster (7,341)
Welcome to our newest member, markob67
» Party's Over for Jane Lynch
July 2, 2009 6:25 PM - by Jouster
More news on the show we can't stop talking about: when "Party Down" resumes filming this September, it looks like it will be without former regular Jane Lynch. Despite telling the Chicago Tribune that "Party Down" was "the most fun [she's] had in [her] life," it looks like her contract with Fox could not be negotiated and she will not be able to return to the Starz series because of her commitment to the Fox show "Glee." Ryan Hansen (who plays fellow 'cater-waiter' Kyle Bradway on the show) recently told E! Online that Jane would definitely not be returning, and added "Kill me now. I love Jane Lynch so much." Co-creator/executive produce Rob Thomas said to TV Week that he hopes to have Jane back for an episode, and that the show will introduce a brand new character to fill the void, which, coincidentally, seems to indicate that Jennifer Coolidge's Bobbie will not replace Jane Lynch's Constance as she did in the final two episodes of the first season.
2 Replies | 92 Views
» Aziz Ansari's "Randy" gets his own website
July 2, 2009 3:50 PM - by isoS
If you went to a comedy show to see Aziz Ansari perform in the last year, you may have wound up seeing a guy named "Randy" instead. Ansari's take on the modern day hip-hop club comic, "Randy" was created for Judd Apatow's upcoming film "Funny People." Thanks to the magic of online viral marketing, now you can go deeper with Randy via his new website laughyourdickoff.com, which offers video clips, tour dates and even a soundboard. In the "Funny People" thread, Aziz reveals that he and director Jason Woliner have been working a "Randy" documentary that should also find its way, at least in part, online this month before landing in the bonus features section of the "Funny People" DVD. For a taste, check out the video after the break (and enjoy the great Brandon Johnson as Randy's DJ Ol' Young'Un).

[ READ + DISCUSS ]
0 Replies | 121 Views
» Matt Braunger's debut album up for pre-order on iTunes
July 1, 2009 7:12 PM - by isoS


[ READ + DISCUSS ]
20 Replies | 371 Views
» "Michael & Michael Have Issues" Premieres Early Online
July 1, 2009 1:11 PM - by BillBrasky
"Michael & Michael Have Issues", a new narrative/sketch comedy series from "The State" and "Stella" stars Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter, is set to premiere on Comedy Central on Wednesday, July 15th at 10:30 PM ET/PT. However, Comedy Central has put the pilot episode of the show online on their press release website, as part of a new "Screening Room" feature. So go check out the show and then come back to post your thoughts here!

Because of various legal issues, we can't give you an exact link to the site, but hopefully you should be able to find it with the information we've given you so far. Once you're on the CC press release site, click on "Screening Room" to watch the episode. Enjoy!

[ READ + DISCUSS ]
12 Replies | 506 Views
» Comedian Al Franken becomes Senator Al Franken
July 1, 2009 11:16 AM - by isoS
So Al Franken is finally going to be a senator. This will give his critics another chance to scoff at the idea of a comedian being elected to public office, but comedy fans know all too well that Franken traded in his humor belt for the suspenders of political activism years ago. Still, this momentous occasion does give us a chance to reflect on his career in comedy.

Did you know that Al Franken used to be funny? It's true. Back in the '70s, '80s and even some of the '90s. Franken and comedy partner Tom Davis got their big break as "apprentice writers" on the first season of "Saturday Night Live," and appeared on the show often in the years that followed. Franken left in 1980 amid a controversy surrounding a sketch he did lambasting NBC's then-president, came back in '85 and then left again a decade later, this time in protest, when he was passed over for the Weekend Update anchor chair -- Norm McDonald got the job instead.

At that time, Franken was best known for playing pastel sweater-clad self-help guru Stuart Smalley, a sketch character whose 1995 feature "Stuart Saves His Family" almost dethroned Julia Sweeney's "It's Pat" as the least successful SNL film adaptation in history. From there he became increasingly focused on political satire (always his specialty as a sketch writer), and gained new fame and acclaim for taking on Bill O'Reilly and Fox News with a series of bestselling books.

But my favorite memory of comedian Al Franken comes from the cameo he and Davis did in the 1983 Eddie Murphy-Dan Aykroyd film "Trading Places." The two play dim-witted baggage handlers on a Philadelphia-bound train tasked with overseeing the transfer of a gorilla. In a movie full of classic performances, it says something that these goofballs stood out in their brief time on-screen.

[ READ + DISCUSS ]
15 Replies | 355 Views
» "Eastbound & Down- The Complete First Season" Out Now
July 1, 2009 3:37 AM - by BillBrasky
"Eastbound & Down- The Complete First Season" is now available in stores. The DVD set for the HBO comedy contains a "Making of Eastbound & Down" featurette, audio commentaries, deleted scenes, outtakes, some Ashley Schaeffer BMW commercials featuring Will Ferrell, and a special feature entitled "Stevie's Dark Secret." It also contains "Kenny Powers: Greatest Hits," which is essentially the full-length, roughly-produced promo video that Kenny creates in one episode of the show.

The series has been picked up for a second season, although no premiere date for the second season has been set yet. Star Danny McBride is currently filming the fantasy comedy "Your Highness" for director David Gordon Green in Belfast, Ireland. The film was written by McBride and his frequent collaborator Ben Best, and will costar James Franco and Natalie Portman.

[ READ + DISCUSS ]
1 Reply | 156 Views
» Max Weinberg Leaving The Tonight Show?
June 30, 2009 2:34 PM - by Jouster
File this under "Bad News, Unconfirmed:" Max Weinberg, currently on hiatus from The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien on a European tour with Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band, might not be returning to the show. The following status update on his official Facebook fan page certainly has an air of finality about it:

NBC is denying any possibility of a permanent departure, and claim the message is "untrue." Depending on how literally you take Weinberg's update, it certainly seems as if he'll be gone from the show for an extended period, if not forever.

Weinberg, who has been working with Conan since his Late Night debut in September of 1993 and made the transition to The Tonight Show with him earlier this year, has long been an integral part of the show. His stoic demeanor and willingness to go to nearly any length for a joke have long been assets to Conan and his team, and his departure would undoubtedly be a huge loss.

[ READ + DISCUSS ]
5 Replies | 901 Views
» Funny or Die and HBO team up to produce YOUR VIDEO? Maybe.
June 30, 2009 1:56 PM - by Itslikeimsayin

Want to get flown to L.A. to hang with Will Ferrell, Adam McKay and Judd Apatow while making your own Internet video? Here's your chance. Funny or Die and HBO's ComedyFetish.com are co-promoting an amateur video contest where the winner will get the opportunity to make a video with the Funny or Die team. The first step is to submit a video illustrating a "comedy fetish," which they explain as "hardcore awkward silences, painful positions and uncomfortable climaxes."

All the information you need can be found here.

[ READ + DISCUSS ]
0 Replies | 116 Views
» Watch This: Barry R's "Magnum Smoothus" with Jon Daly
June 30, 2009 1:20 PM - by Jouster
7 Replies | 160 Views
» Varney & Stratton "Riff" on GHOST
June 30, 2009 10:06 AM - by isoS
RiffTrax Presents has a new title up on their site, and it's a doozie: the spectral sleeper hit of 1990 "Ghost." I have been adamantly avoiding this film since its release on the grounds that it is the worst kind of corny chick flick, but hearing improv superstars/SF Sketchfest co-founders/all-around funnyfolk Janet Varney and Cole Stratton mock it as it plays might finally convince me to cross over. If you aren't familiar with RiffTrax, then first of all shame on you, and second of all it's the brainchild of former Mystery Science Theater 3000 host Mike Nelson, who apparently wanted to try his hand at heckling movies anyone has heard of. (Visit RiffTrax.com for more specifics.) RiffTrax Presents is a sanctioned spin-off featuring guest riffers like our friends Cole and Janet. So grab your Whoopi wig, some throwing clay and a bag of popcorn and get ready to laugh!

RiffTrax Presents: Ghost

[ READ + DISCUSS ]
0 Replies | 74 Views
» Who's on What This Week
June 29, 2009 11:54 AM - by Jouster
Note: All talk shows are in repeats this week, with the exception of Mon-Thurs Chelsea Lately

Monday, June 29th:
Zach Galifianakis on The Late Show with David Letterman
Natasha Leggero on Chelsea Lately
Ken Jeong on Jimmy Kimmel Live

Tuesday, June 30th:
Jen Kirkman on Chelsea Lately

Thursday, July 1st:
Eddie Murphy and Angela Kinsey on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien
June Diane Raphael on Jimmy Kimmel Live
Greg Proops on Chelsea Lately

Thursday, July 2nd:
Norm Macdonald and Jim Gaffigan on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien
David Cross on Jimmy Kimmel Live
Brody Stevens on Chelsea Lately
Maya Rudolph on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

Friday, July 3rd:
The Sklar Brothers on Chelsea Lately

[ READ + DISCUSS ]
2 Replies | 140 Views
» Steve Martin pays tribute to Michael Jackson via 25-year-old parody
June 29, 2009 11:37 AM - by isoS

Well, we did it: we finally found a way to put the news of Michael Jackson's death on the front page of a comedy site (if you want to laugh, cry and reminisce, the thread for that is right here). On NewYorker.com, Steve Martin remembers producing a parody of the "Billie Jean" video for "The New Show," a prime-time comedy series produced by Lorne Michaels in 1983-1984 (during his exile from SNL). "The hard move was that little leg twist that he did," Martin writes. "You really have to throw your leg."

Full piece (it's short)

[ READ + DISCUSS ]
0 Replies | 205 Views
» Chip Pope + Howard Kremer = "Goode"
June 26, 2009 1:53 PM - by TomHicks
Tin Pan Alley tunesmiths Chip Pope and Howard Kremer have stamped their names indelibly (thank you, Spellcheck) on the pages of The American Songbook. What you might not know is they are also a dynamite comedy writing duo. So turn off your hi-fi stereos for 30 minutes and check out the Chip- and Howard-penned episode of "The Goode Family," "Freeganomics," airing tonight at 8:30 p.m. on the American Broadcasting Co. channel. (No longer available in analog.)

[ READ + DISCUSS ]
3 Replies | 224 Views
» Watch This: The Invention of Lying with Ricky Gervais, Louis CK and More
June 26, 2009 1:26 PM - by Jouster
21 Replies | 581 Views
» Paul F. Tompkins to Record DVD/Comedy Central Special
June 26, 2009 12:55 PM - by Itslikeimsayin
Great news! AST's reigning King of Comedy Paul F. Tompkins will record a one-hour stand-up DVD and Comedy Central Special July 30-August 2 at the Laughing Skull in Atlanta. Paul revealed to us that the material "will be the more intimate storytelling stuff I've been doing for the last couple of years."

No projected release or air dates were announced, but tickets are available for the shows at the Little Skull's web site.

[ READ + DISCUSS ]
17 Replies | 560 Views
» NYC-based Comic Joe Mande To Author Blog-Based Book
June 26, 2009 11:50 AM - by Jouster
Yaniv Soha at St. Martin’s nabbed North American rights in what the house would only call "an aggressive" pre-empt to comedian Joe Mande’s Look at This Fucking Hipster. Born out of Mande’s popular Web site of the same name (www.latfh.com), which features pictures of supposed hipsters accompanied by snarky captions, the illustrated book will both mock and celebrate hipster culture. Hannah Brown Gordon of Foundry brokered the deal in conjunction with the L.A. management company Generate. [Publishers Weekly]

Joe, an occasional ASTer, can be found on the Internet at joemande.com. Congratulations, Joe!

[ READ + DISCUSS ]
0 Replies | 86 Views
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