UCB Event That May Be Of Interest To You Guys

NEW YORK
Monday June 21 - Big Lake Screening


Screening of the upcoming Comedy Central series Big Lake which stars Chris Gethard, Chris Parnell and Horatio Sanz and is produced by Will Ferrell, Chris Henchy and Adam McKay. The screening is hosted by Gethard and Sanz, and admission is free.

http://newyork.ucbtheatre.com/shows/2347

Bobby Moynihan on Portable Lounge

So, looks like I have to compete with Chris Gethard for best Bobby Moynihan interview of the week - I know, right? Timing!
Anyway, Gethard interviewed Moynihan for his new Comedy Central online talk show Portable Lounge and they discussed Chewbacca and their non-sexual fantasies. You can check it out here -
http://www.comedycentral.com/full-episodes/portable-lounge/101-chris-gethard-and-bobby-moynihan

I can't view it - overseas viewers & stuff - but by all accounts, it's awesome so check it out!

Seth Meyers on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (VIDEO)

So, Seth Meyers appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last night to play the Siblingwed Game with his brother Josh Meyers. Part 1 is embedded below. Parts 2 & 3 are embedded after the jump. Enjoy!

Just in case you needed another reason to purchase Elliot Alagash -

We hired Simon Rich at SNL because of his amazing short fiction. When he told us he was writing a novel we made it clear that were it not up to his previous high standard we would have no choice but to terminate his employment. Well, I just finished Elliot Allagash and I’m happy to say, he still has his job.

Elliot Allagash takes place in eighth grade and this is great news for anyone familiar with Simon’s writing. Every comedy writer I know went through eighth grade but none render the details of it quite like Simon. Familiar schoolyard archetypes from nerds to bullies to hot girls all appear but they’re sharper than ever.

And it would be enough if Simon just spent his book examining the status ladder of Glendale Academy but fortunately there is so much more. Because the title character, Elliot Allagash is one of the best villains I’ve ever encountered in fiction. By age thirteen his offenses include “vandalism, truancy, unprovoked violence, drunkenness, hiring an imposter to take a standardized test, and blackmail.” In a classic deal-with-the-devil arrangement Elliot offers to make Seymour, our hero, the most popular kid in the school with the simple condition that Seymour must do everything Elliot says. What makes this journey delightful is that Elliot is extremely rich.

The details of Elliot’s wealth are joyous to read and too numerous to count. My favorite—the Allagash family belongs to the Seven Circles Club, a club so exclusive that they denied George Washington’s only son membership because “his father was a farmer.”

A lot of very successful adults I know still wish they could re-live high school as someone popular. Reading this hilarious morality tale about the cost of that popularity makes me happy that I went through my high school years as an outsider. And it makes me even happier that Simon Rich did.”

-Seth Meyers' review of Elliot Alagash

Happy Birthday, Will Forte!

Go Forte, it’s your birthday,

Gonna defuse bombs like it’s your birthday,

Gonna wear fake moustaches like it’s your birthday,

And you know we don’t give a fuck,

‘Cause it’s your birthday!

Happy birthday, Will Forte! Have a good one, sir!

Happy Birthday, Abby Elliott!

Happy birthday to SNL starlet Abby Elliott who turns the ripe young age of 23 today, and in the process puts every other 23 year old in the world to shame. 


Have a good 'un, girl!

Amy Poehler's "Smart Girls at the Party" Relaunches

So, SNL alum Amy Poehler has relaunched her website/series, "Smart Girls At The Party" at http://www.smartgirlsattheparty.com/

A Twitter account has also been set up at -
http://twitter.com/smrtgrls

The first episode of the second series profiles an engineer named Rachel. and there's also a cute song written by Amy Miles featured on there too. And as if that weren't enough, there's a poll where you can vote between pictures of Megan Mullally's and Nick Offerman's dogs! So, if you have any young sisters/girl cousins/whatever, show them this series!


Finally, I just want to say that I really like Amy Poehler's brand of feminism. 

Andy Samberg filming, "What's Your Number?"

Andy Samberg was spotted filming What's Your Number? in Boston this week. The romantic comedy stars Anna Faris, Chris Evans, Ari Graynor, Zachary Quinto, Joel McHale and others.


In other Andy Samberg news, Andy will be participating in the Ben Stiller Comedy Roundtable at this year's Nantucket Film Festival. The roundtable will also feature Stiller, Zach Galifianakis and Sarah Silverman and takes place this Saturday at noon. 

"Elliot Alagash" NY Times Review

I Love You, Beth Cooper writer Larry Doyle penned a review of SNL writer Simon Rich's novel "Elliot Alagash" for the NY Times. Sample quote -

"Yet the inevitable warm fuzziness doesn’t terribly undercut all the nasty pleasures previously provided, nor diminish expectations for the next bit of mischief. Mr. Rich (son of the New York Times columnist Frank Rich) is young still, with two other books already under his belt (both collections of extremely funny very short pieces) and nothing but promise ahead. If he were his own creation, he would need to be destroyed."


You can read the rest of it here -
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/15/books/15book.html?src=mv


Also, here's another great interview with Simon Rich -
http://therumpus.net/2010/06/ridiculously-rich-the-rumpus-interview-with-simon-rich/

Bobby Moynihan Q&A

Okay, so I just want to extend my enormous thanks to Bobby for agreeing to answer these questions and for putting so much time, care and effort into answering these questions. He went far and beyond what I could have ever expected - the answers are so insightful and for all us SNL nerds, it's a real treat to read! 
Without further ado, I give you the Bobby Moynihan Q&A! I hope you all enjoy it! (Most of it is after the jump, so click read more!)
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1. Could you talk about how you originally got into comedy? (What led you into it? Was it what you were always interested in pursuing?)

When I was a kid I wanted to be a cartoonist. Or at least draw comic books or make action figures. Then I started doing the youth summer theatre in my town. Mostly just to hang out with my friends at the diner after rehearsals. When college time came around I got into UCONN for Acting. So I went. I did mostly plays and musical theatre while I was there but we had to a final presentation for our senior year and we kind of did sketch's and then a roast. I think that was my first real jump into sketch comedy. Then when I came back to New York I saw an improv show at UCB. I loved it so much and I knew instantly that that was what I wanted to do. I signed up for classes the next day and I have been doing it ever since.

2. What was your audition like for Saturday Night Live? Did it feature any characters/impressions that have since been featured on the show?

My audition process was torture. It was 14 months in between the first time I auditioned and the second time because of the writers strike. The first time I auditioned I believe I did Hurley from Lost trying to open a jar of Dharma Initiative Chili, Turtle from Entourage. I did Mark Payne, and I did another character called Simply Victor that will never be on the show and a bit where I tap danced. The second time I auditioned I think I had a better handle on what they wanted  from me. I did like 13 short bits. I believe I did a character called "The Biggest Douche on the Subway", I did Nathan Lane for the National Hamburger Society, I did Snagglepuss at a swingers club, I did Jack Black at a funeral, I did a character called Mark Dark Narcoleptic Narc, I did Simply Victor again and Mark Payne. I also did other stuff that I am forgetting and when I write it out like that I don't know how I got on the show.

3. In your first show at SNL, you got your character Mark Payne on the air. How did you succeed in getting a character on the air in your first week and what was it like to feature so prominently in a sketch that early on?

Honestly, I have no idea. I think it was all a matter of timing and stupidity. I pitched my only good character right out of the gate. Not the smartest thing I have ever done. But it was the only thing I had that I knew really really well. I had been doing that character in a show with my sketch group Buffoons (with Charlie Sanders and Eugene Cordero) for three years so I felt comfortable with it. Everyone was very nice at my first read through and I was terrified. But it went well and it got picked. Still can't believe it. I also think it had a lot to do with the fact that Michael Phelps was hosting and he had just won like a million medals and he was exhausted. All he had to do in the scene was sit and not swim. If an actual actor hosted I don't think it would have seen the light of day. To this day  I still cannot understand the chain of events that led to getting that on the air in my first show. We did another one a few episodes later with Tim McGraw that I loved and another two, one with Rosario Dawson and one with Tracy Morgan, that got cut for time. The Tracy Morgan one was the Mark Payne origin story. A flashback to Tracy training Mark at Uno's. I love it more than anything. But it will never see the light of day. The Mark Payne saga is complete in my mind. I love that character and believe it is a big part of what got me on the show. The biggest  thrill of all was seeing Mark Payne in the opening credits sequence of the SNL in the 2000's documentary. I can remember the moment I saw it. I will never forget how thankful I was that I worked in Pizzeria Uno for 9 years too long.

Kristen Wiig in Gotham Magazine (PICTURES)

Kristen Wiig is featured in this month's Gotham Magazine and the article is online at -
http://www.gotham-magazine.com/celebrities/articles/queen-of-the-night

A few other pictures are included there too! Enjoy!