JibJab and Verizon Wireless have teamed up with renowned comedy film director John Landis to produce six comedy short films featuring the best up-and-coming sketch comedians in the country for the Great Sketch Experiment contest. The six videos competing are available as of today for free at JibJab.com or on Verizon Wireless� V CAST service in the V CAST Showcase channel.
This is the fifth year for the LA Fest of Sketch Comedy. Last year, 33 groups from all over the country and Canada presented inspired comedy. This year the laughs will continue. This is a great way to have your work seen in the entertainment capitol of the world by industry and an appreciative public. This is LA, where it can all happen in a moment!
For 2006 Video Sketch and Animation have been added as festival categories in addition to live performance. You can submit in as many categories as you like. The best of the Video Sketches and Animation will be compiled into a
The 10th season of SOUTH PARK is off to a game start with trouble in the online gaming world when a renegade player threaten to destroy Blizzard Ent.'s award-winning game, WORLD OF WARCRAFT. The future of the game lies in the hands of Cartman, Kyle, Stan and Kenny, when all new episodes premiere Oct. 4 2006, at 10:00 pm on Comedy Central. This is followed the next night by DRAWN TOGETHER as it returns for a third season with more twists and turns from the animated group of dysfunctional misfits with seven new episodes, beginning on Oct. 5 at 10:30 pm.
Comedy Centrals FREAK SHOW, an animated half-hour narrative featuring a band of freak show performers who also happen to be second-rate superheroes, debuts on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2006, at 10:30 pm. The seven-episode series is based on an idea by David Cross (ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT, MR. SHOW) and H. Jon Benjamin (DR. KATZ: PROFESSIONAL THERAPIST, HOME MOVIES). Encore presentations to air Wednesday at 12:30 am, Friday at 12:30 am and Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday at midnight.
SOUTH PARK is celebrating its 10th anniversary in an epic way. Remember the episode when televised cussing almost brought about the apocalypse? How about the time Chef was brainwashed by an adventure-seeking cult? Nobody can forget the episode, "Trapped In The Closet," where Tom Cruise and John Travolta locked themselves in Stans closet. Heres a chance to see all of these world-changing episodes in one fell swoop. Starting Sunday, Sept.
Sydney, Australia writer/director Anny Slater's comedy animation BARNEY THE WHITE HOUSE TERRIER has been selected to screen at the Oscars qualifying Chicago International Children's Film Festival. Films that win at the festival are automatically short listed for nomination at the 2008 Oscars. The same film is one of only nine short films screened at the Boston Comedy Festival, where comedians Denis Leary and Lewis Black will be performing.
The film is an imagined conversation between President Bush's dog Barney and his secret service agent.
The Will Ferrell NASCAR comedy, TALLADEGA NIGHTS: THE BALLAD OF RICKY BOBBY, raced to the top of the box office chart in its first outing. For the weekend ended Aug. 6, 2006, the Sony release scored a whopping $47Mthe best comedy opener of the year and a personal best for Ferrell. Debuting in second place with $15.8M was the 3D-animated BARNYARD from Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon Movies and director Steve Oedekerks O Ent.
Giggleshorts International Comedy Short Film FestivalToronto, Ontario, Canada October 2006 Deadline: August 31, 2006
Giggleshorts is the largest comedy short film festival in the world. Last year Gigglehsorts presented more than 200 short comedy , films, animations, spoofs, ads, etc. For more information, visit www.giggleshorts.com.
Fox Ent. is looking for a few good animated laughs to bolster its Sunday toon stronghold anchored by THE SIMPSONS and FAMILY GUY, according THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER.
Fox Ent. president Peter Liguori told the trade that he and his development staff are in the thick of an aggressive summer hunt for new comedy projects that can be launched when AMERICAN IDOL returns for a sixth edition in January 2007.
There's a new future for the popular FUTURAMA TV series with Comedy Central picking up rights to air at least 13 additional, soon-to-be-produced episodes, which will air in 2008.
This augments the initial license agreement Comedy Central entered into with Twentieth Century Fox Television last fall for Matt Groening's and David X. Cohens Emmy-winning animated comedy series FUTURAMA according to David Bernath, svp programming, Comedy Central.
Kim Fleary has been named evp, comedy development, The CW. Fleary, who will oversee the development of all scripted comedy series for The CW reports to Dawn Ostroff, president, entertainment, The CW.
"Kim's breadth of experience and vision have helped create many hit comedies in her career and we're confident she will repeat her success at The CW," said Ostroff. "She has keen creative and comedic instincts and is a wonderful collaborator on every level."
Paramount Pictures has optioned the pitch ODD TODD, based on the Webtoon created by Todd Rosenberg, according to VARIETY. Jonathan Kesselman (THE HEBREW HAMMER) is attached to direct.
Rosenberg independently produced the Web series and later adapted it for Comedy Central's broadband website. He will write the screenplay, which will follow the title character as he locks himself out of his apartment on the very day his unemployment checks run out.
ODD TODD will be among the first films developed by the Comedy Central Films banner. Mike Karz will produce.
The first half of the 10th season of SOUTH PARK culminates with Cartman's mom realizing she has lost control of her son in an all-new episode titled, "TSST!" premiering Wednesday, May 3, 2006, at 10 p.m. on Comedy Central.
The Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan, takes on his biggest challenge to date when he signs on to discipline Eric Cartman. Cesar may have encountered his biggest challenge, because Cartman isn't going down without a fight.
Comedy Central is partnering with IFILM to launch," Comedy Central's Test Pilots," an online competition in search of the next big broadband show. Would-be show creators will get the opportunity to submit one to five-minute pilots to comedycentral.com with the winner receiving a development deal on Comedy Central's broadband channel, "MotherLoad." Live action, animation, sketch or hidden camera any format is acceptable.
Comedy Central has greenlit production of seven episodes of FREAK SHOW, an animated half-hour narrative about a band of freak show performers and second-rate superheroes, slated to premiere in late 2006 or early 2007.
Comedy Central will launch its first original animated mobile series SAMURAI LOVE GOD, to premiere in first quarter 2006 and launch cross carriers with eight two-and-a-half minute episodes. The adult series features the voices of adult film star Jenna Jameson and THE DAILY SHOW correspondent Ed Helms.
Comedy Central has launched on iTunes, with 56 half-hour episodes featuring the network's leading franchises the Emmy Award-winning SOUTH PARK, DRAWN TOGETHER and COMEDY CENTRAL STAND-UP. A download of a new episode of hit-animated reality series, DRAWN TOGETHER, will be available on Monday, Jan. 30, 2006, three days in advance of the Feb. 1, network debut making this an "iTunes Episode Premiere."
Hosted by iHollywood Forum, Inc., Fun Little Movies (FLM) and NeTV the winners of the first MoTV Awards will be announced at NATPE Mobile ++ on Jan. 23, 2006, in Las Vegas, Nevada, at 5:30 pm in the Mandalay Bay resort. Film and TV comedy star Eddie Griffin (DEUCE BIGALOW, EUROPEAN GIGOLO) will present the Fun Little Movies Award for Best Comedy.
Filmmakers or animators can still participate by submitting their short films (10 seconds to 10 minutes in length) to www.mobilemediafest.com.There is a $35 entry fee, $25 for students.
Comedy Central is taking original broadband programming to new heights with its development slate for early 2006, which includes an extensive lineup of original programming including animation, live-action narratives, topical stand-up performance and sketch comedies.
Comedy Central MotherLoad, which launched Nov. 1, 2005, is one of the first network broadband channels to premiere original series. To view Comedy Central MotherLoad, log on to www.comedycentral.com/motherload.
For the first time ever SOUTH PARK and CHAPPELLES SHOW will be available on mobile phones beginning January 2006
"These deals further represent Comedy Central's multi-platform strategy to deliver content anywhere, anytime," said Michele Ganeless, evp/gm, Comedy Central. "We are committed to giving our audience quality programming beyond the boundaries of television. With the mobile launch of SOUTH PARK and CHAPPELLE'S SHOW, two of the top-rated shows on our network, Comedy Central is leading the charge in the wireless entertainment content arena."
Comedy director Kenan Moran has signed with Curious Pictures for exclusive TV commercial representation.
Moran, who recently directed a seven-spot Comedy Central image campaign through the company on a freelance basis, was working with Czar U.S. An alumnus of MTVs on-air promo department, he brings a comic sensibility and solid live-action experience to a production company long associated with animation and mixed media work.
Comedy Central recently launched its first broadband-optimized video channel "COMEDY CENTRAL MotherLoad," offering exclusively new original series and content from classic Comedy Central shows such as Robert Smigel's TV FUNHOUSE. To view "MotherLoad" go to www.comedycentral.commotherload.
Comedy Central has ordered a third season of TVâs first animated reality show, DRAWN TOGETHER, featuring a mix of cartoon characters from various genres of animation brought together to live under one roof. The characters leave their animated "reality" and enter a new world where their cartoon universes collide with a bang, combining different styles of animation and different personalities, all "drawn together."
Comedy Central gets very animated in the coming week with the ninth season of SOUTH PARK, new episode of DRAWN TOGETHER and select broadcast of BEAVIS & BUTT-HEAD episodes and movie.
Comedy Central Home Ent. and Paramount Home Ent.s DRAWN TOGETHER: SEASON ONE UNCENSORED! DVD arrives in stores in the U.S. Oct. 4, 2005, and will also be available at http://shop.comedycentral.com. DRAWN TOGETHER, TVs first animated reality show, features eight cartoon characters, picked to live together in a house to find out what happens when people stop being real and start getting animated.
