Shelly Gossman hired to write for SNL

Congratulations to Second City star Shelly Gossman who, according to TimeOut Chicago, has been hired as a writer for the upcoming season of SNL. 


As I posted earlier, an SNL contingent was scouting iO and Second City this past weekend and evidently they liked what they saw in Gossman because she was informed by Michael Patrick O'Brien that she had been tapped to join the writing team at SNL. 


Gossman has been performing in the Second City revue, "Spoiler Alert - Eveybody Dies" and will play her last show August 18 before heading to New York. 


Congratulations, Shelly!

SNL Contingent Scouts Chicago | ChicagoNow.com

Chicago Now is reporting that Lorne Michaels, Seth Meyers and writer/Chicago improv veteran Michael Patrick O'Brien visited iO and Second City in Chicago this past week to scout new talent. The article reports that this year, for the second consecutive year, there was no improvisation. Instead performers were asked to do a 5-minute piece demonstrating their characters - much like the auditions held in Studio 8H every year. A few performers have been called to New York for interviews, but beyond that, everyone's keeping mum! I, of course, will keep you clued in on any hirings and firings I read about!

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Kristen Wiig Photographed on set of "Bridesmaids"

Kristen Wiig was snapped on the set of her upcoming comedy "Bridesmaids" which is currently filming in Los Angeles. Also snapped was her co-star Chris O'Dowd.


Pictures are included after the jump.

SNL '09'-'10 DVD details

A few weeks ago, NBC Universal announced that a best of '09-'10 DVD would be released featuring some of the best sketches of the season and some extras. Now we have a studio description of what the content will look like -


"Enjoy some of the best sketches from SNL's 35th season including Will Forte as MacGruber, Kenan Thompson's Deandre Cole in What Up With That?, Fred Armisen as Barack Obama, Bill Hader as Vincent Price and Andy Samberg in two SNL Digital Shorts: Shy Ronnie and On The Ground.

Also join host Betty White and SNL alums Molly Shannon and Ana Gasteyer for another episode of NPR's Delicious Dish. Special Guests include Alec Baldwin, Charles Barkley, Gerard Butler, Tina Fey, James Franco, Zach Galifianakis, Jon Hamm, Jude Law, Blake Lively, Gabourey Sidibe and Taylor Swift.

Among the extras you can look for are "Weekend Update Thursday", "Dress Sketches", "Backstage Photos" and "Outtakes"."
You can pre-order the DVD on Amazon here. 

Bootleg trailer for Paul hits the internet

Bootleg trailer of Paul from Comic-Con.


Yes, a shrewd audience member filmed the exclusive trailer shown at Comic-Con this past weekend and naturally enough, it has made its way onto the internet. The visuals are a little blurry, but the audio is perfect so enjoy!


For those not in the know, Paul is a comedy written by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost and directed by Greg Mottola. It stars Pegg & Frost as well as Jason Bateman, SNL stars Kristen Wiig & Bill Hader, Joe Lo Truglio, Jane Lynch, Blythe Danner, John Carroll Lynch and Sigourney Weaver. Seth Rogen voices the titular character, an alien creature named Paul. 

Hannibal Buress #1 on iTunes Comedy Chart

So, Hannibal Buress is kind of a comedy superstar, guys. His album 'My Name Is Hannibal' is atop the iTunes Comedy Album chart and it's out of stock on Amazon! Crazy! He's #8 on the comedy charts on Amazon - underneath every Glee album, Weird Al Yankovic, Eddie Izzard's Dressed To Kill and Tom Lehrer. Did I mention it was only released yesterday? Insane!


Congratulations to Hannibal on all this success! And if you haven't bought the album already, what are you doing? It's hilarious! Get on that!

Hey guys,
SNL writer Michael Patrick O'Brien has kindly agreed to answer a few questions about his first season writing for SNL for the blog! I know - excitement. Anyway, faithful readers - if you have any questions you would like me to ask Michael, please leave a comment with your question and I'll select a few of the best to ask.
Thanks,
-amy 

SNL To Return September 25

SNL Weekend Update head writer Alex Baze announced on Twitter that Saturday Night Live will return for its 36th season on September 25. Save the date, guys!

SNL writer Michael Patrick O'Brien has set up a home for himself on the world wide web at obrien.org
You can check the website out for news on when Michael will be performing. O'Brien has just returned from Montreal having performed his one-man show "Shatter" there and has written for SNL since '09. 

Hannibal Buress' album "My Name Is Hannibal" Drops Tomorrow

Just a reminder that SNL writer Hannibal Buress' album "My Name Is Hannibal" drops tomorrow. 


About.Com says the album is "something special" and "shows the promise of greatness for Hannibal Buress", while Consequence of Sound declares that ".. there’s never going to be another Hannibal Buress. He’s an honest comic who makes weird asides and awesomely silly observations."


If you haven't ordered it already, do yourselves a favour and order it from Amazon here. 


Here are some testimonials from other comics about Hannibal -


"If Steven Wright, Mos Def and Dave Chappelle had a baby, that would be disgusting, but it would sound like Hannibal Buress. The funniest young comic I've seen in years."
- Chris Rock


"Hannibal is incredibly funny with a smart, unique style and I am proud to be his father."
-Jim Gaffigan


"I haven't heard this album, and I never will. But I've seen Hannibal do comedy, and if the CD is a recording of him doing comedy, then it's probably worth getting. I mean, I still won't get it, but you can. And you might like it."
-Todd Barry


"Hannibal is funny on stage and off stage and right in between, too." 
-Demetri Martin


"Hannibal's debut album is hilarious. Also hilarious - Aziz Ansari's debut album Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening, now available in stores EVERYWHERE!"
-Aziz Ansari


"One of the best joke writers I've ever seen. He's one of the few performers I've come across that creates such electricity in a room that I think 'this guy is going to be a star FOR SURE."
-Mike Birbiglia


Surely you don't need more convincing? Buy Hannibal's album now!

Bill Hader at Comic-Con

So, as I'm sure you guys know, Comic-Con 2010 took place this past weekend in San Diego. Bill Hader was in attendance and took part in the panel for the upcoming sci-fi comedy Paul. Here are pictures of Hader at Nerdfest after the jump -

Bobby Moynihan article | UConn

Check out this neat article about Bobby Moynihan that appeared in the UConn magazine. The article can also be read here. 

Enjoy! And thanks to Nicole for sharing it with me!

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Kristen Wiig attached to "Imogen"

Kristen Wiig has been confirmed by directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini to be attached to star in an upcoming feature, "Imogen". 


According to Springer Berman, ""There’s actually a screenplay that we’d love to do that somebody else wrote, this woman named Michelle Morgan, called 'Imogen. It’s a comedy and again a great character. It’s a funny story but it’s got amazing characters, and Kristen Wiig is attached to star in it." 


Wiig is currently filming, "Bridesmaids" and recently optioned the novel, "Clown Girl". She will next be seen in the Simon Pegg/Nick Frost film "Paul". 

What Is "The Saturday Night Live Movie"?

Have you ever heard of The Saturday Night Live Movie? No? Well former head writer Adam McKay hadn't either. Not until HitFix writer Drew McWeeny put it to him during a press junket for The Other Guys.
From HitFix -

"But what I never knew until last month was that in 1990, there was an attempt to make an actual theatrical release called "The Saturday Night Live Movie," an anthology comedy film a la "Kentucky Fried Movie" that was aimed at satirizing the experience of going to the movies, written by an all-star cast of writers who have been associated with the show over the years.

How did I learn of the project's existence?

The best way possible:  the script landed on my desk."

McWeeny gives a run down of the sketches and their writers in the anthology film -

• Welcome To The Movies" by Conan O'Brien, Robert Smigel, and Greg Daniels
• "Young Bush At Yale" by Jim Downey, Al Franken, and Robert Smigel
• "Cineplex" by Robert Smigel, Conan O'Brien, and Greg Daniels
• "Appeal #1" by Jim Downey and Al Franken
• "Romance" by Al Franken and Tom Davis
• "Crack Rap" by Al Franken and Tom Davis
• "Appeal #2" by Jim Downey and Al Franken
• "Dad's Car" by Robert Smigel, Conan O'Brien and Greg Daniels
• "Bum Piss Canyon/Apology" by Tom Davis, Jim Downey, and Al Franken
• "Appeal #3" by Jim Downey and Al Franken
• "E.T.'s" by Greg Daniels, Robert Smigel, Jim Downey, and Conan O'Brien
• "On The Farm" by Robert Smigel, Conan O'Brien, Greg Daniels, and Al Franken
• "Wonderful Life" by Jim Downey and Al Franken
• "Tip Stealer" by George Meyer
• "Movie's Over" by Conan O'Brien, Robert Smigel, and Greg Daniels
• "Blooper Credits" by Conan O'Brien and Jim Downey

Look at the calibre of the writers involved in the project.Conan, Daniels, Downey, Davis & Franken, Meyer, Smigel - it reads like a Who's Who of comedy. In the article, McWeeny mentions that he has been unsuccessful in his attempts to get somebody to talk about the conception of the project and why it was never produced. I personally love the idea of a sketch movie and surely a film with the words, "Saturday Night Live" in the title would be a runaway success. 

Read the article here and you can see McWeeny's thoughts on some of the sketches. It's a super-fascinating read and makes me nostalgic for what might have been had the SNL movie been produced.