the comic's comic

Comedian Dan Ahdoot translated Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's ABC News interview with Diane Sawyer

2009-12-23T04:52:57-05:00

Millions of Americans tuned in (and millions more around the world saw clips) as Diane Sawyer made her full-time debut behind the anchor desk Monday night for World News with Diane Sawyer and shared an exclusive sit-down interview with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. They heard Sawyer level harsh accusations at Ahmadinejad about Iran's nuclear program, its treatment of its citizens as well as of three American hikers arrested after they crossed the border. They also heard Ahmadinejad refer to Sawyer as "respectable lady." But what most people don't know is that the voice they heard translating Ahmadinejad belonged to a stand-up comedian, New York City's Dan Ahdoot.

Ahdoot has joked for years about his own status as an Iranian Jew. And he told me last night about being part of a landmark broadcast and interview.

Tell me how you got the gig? Do you offer Iranian translations for TV stations or other people as a side gig? And why did you decide to give him an accent? I know how you talk for real! I got the gig completely randomly. They never use comedians or voice-over actors, for that matter. They only use translators. However, the translators sounded really menacing, and they weren't into it. So there's a producer at ABC News who used to produce comedy shows at a bar in the East Village 10 years ago. She remembered seeing me at the Boston Comedy Club at a bringer night! And she remembered I was Iranian. So she looked me up, and I was in the studios the next day. It was their idea to have me do an Iranian accent and I was totally cool with it. All of those years of making jokes about my parents finally paid off.

And did you know that your plum gig was going to be watched by even more people since it aired on Diane Sawyer's first night in the nightly news anchor chair? I didn't know until it was about to air that it was her debut. The funny part is that we had my mom on the phone doing last-minute translations for some questionable phrases. For example, she was the one who helped with the "respectable lady" line he says that has gotten so much press! It was such a bizarre scenario, but definitely my favorite credit so far...Sorry Leno ;)

You can watch Ahdoot's appearance from October on The Jay Leno Show, plus other details here. And here is the ABC News interview between Diane Sawyer and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, as seen on Nightline, with translations by Dan Ahdoot (here's the shorter World News version):

Watch this year's rejected celebrity Santa auditions: It's High Treason!

2009-12-22T16:49:50-05:00

I missed out on seeing High Treason last night at the UCB Theatre's Maude Night, but thankfully, we all can enjoy their holiday sketch of "Rejected Celebrity Santa Auditions," featuring appearances by Tim Gunn, Penelope Cruz, Feist, Shakira, President Barack Obama, Bjork, Billy Joel and Bono. Looks like there might not be a celebrity Santa this year?

This sketch written & directed by Aaron Glaser; shot & edited by Danny Reynolds. Starring: Michael Hartney, Kate McKinnon, Veronica Osorio, Marcus Bishop-Wright, Rob Webber, Sarah Claspell. Featuring: Melissa Gordon and Aaron Glaser.

Comedy Central wishes you happy holidays, reflecting on what matters most in 2009

2009-12-22T14:38:34-05:00

Have you received Comedy Central's holiday card for 2009? If not, then please allow me to share their tidings of joy and reflection, as they remind us what's going on in the world and what's really important to remember this season.

Here is Comedy Central's 2009 holiday card. Ho-ho-ho ha-ha-ha, everybody!

Patton Oswalt to make Broadway debut; joins trend of stand-up comedians hitting the big stage

2009-12-22T12:16:57-05:00

Producers of a Broadway revival of Terrance McNally's "Lips Together, Teeth Apart," announced that Megan Mullally and Patton Oswalt would take the leading roles when the former Off-Broadway hit from 1991 returns to New York City's bigger stages in April 2010. It's set for a limited engagement to run through June.

Oswalt played drama on the big screen this year in Big Fan, but his Broadway debut in the coming year marks yet another stand-up comedian who will learn the lines for the dramatic stage. Is this a new trend or just something we're only now starting to notice? Who's to say? A quick search of my memory and the Internet turns up at least these precedents of going from stand-up to stage:

Mario Cantone has performed in several Broadway productions since 1995. But it seems as though the connection between stand-up and Broadway began heating up in the past six years, when Eddie Izzard received a Tony Award nomination for starring in the 2003 revival of "A Day in the Death of Joe Egg." Since then, musical comedian Stephen Lynch has starred in the stage adaptation of the film, "The Wedding Singer," Bob Saget took a turn as the Man in Chair in 2007's version of "The Drowsy Chaperone," Cedric the Entertainer was part of last year's short-lived revival of "American Buffalo," and of course, the beginning of 2009 saw Will Ferrell romp on Broadway in his one-man show, "You're Welcome America: A Final Night with George W. Bush." Currently, you can see David Alan Grier in David Mamet's new play, "Race," co-starring with James Spader, Richard Thomas and Kerry Washington.

Who else am I missing from this list? Are comedians finally being taken seriously as stage performers? Discuss.

Watch: KRS-One & Lupe Fiasco join DAG, Kenan on Nike's Kobe & LeBron Christmas puppet rap

2009-12-21T17:59:04-05:00

If you haven't noticed David Alan Grier and Kenan Thompson as the voices of Kobe Bryant and LeBron James in Nike's series of puppet ads, then perhaps the addition of KRS-One and Lupe Fiasco on a Christmas rap song will get your attention? They're dunking on reindeer! Roll the clip!

Background: Here's a link from DAG's site to three of his favorite other Nike puppet ads.

The Derf Junham Show goes where The Jeff Dunham Show dares not tread in 2010?

2009-12-21T15:10:54-05:00

In this new spoof on Funny or Die, comedian Rob Lathan plays a ventriloquist named Derf Junham who experiences a moral crisis during a routine with his terrorist puppet Talibob.

The timing on this is spooky, because I heard multiple reports late Friday that Comedy Central wasn't going forward with a second season of The Jeff Dunham Show -- Comedy Central's people denied that any decision had been made when I put the question directly to them -- but perhaps the backlash is being heard. Well, we know the backlash is being heard because The New York Times has written multiple pieces trying to explain Dunham's popularity to the "rest" of America. Somebody tell Gabe at Videogum that DING DONG! his nemesis may soon be defeated (well, not defeated so much as deflated). In the meantime, roll the clip of "The Derf Junham Show."

Please take 70 moments to watch this devastatingly funny takedown of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace

2009-12-21T14:38:55-05:00

I have been meaning to post many things today, but before I can do that, I must encourage you to watch this devastatingly funny, on-point, and sometimes completely random critique of Star Wars, Episode I: The Phantom Menace, by an outfit called Red Letter Media that offers video production services (and film reviews!) in Milwaukee. It went up about a week ago, and it has seven parts to it. Just wow. If I were an old man with a basement and had enough spare time and video-editing knowledge, I could only hope to put something like this together. Too funny! Contains some profanities, but they are wholly and utterly essential, because, craptastic doesn't begin to describe what George Lucas did with the most successful movie franchise ever. Just when I thought I knew why we hated this movie, this 70-minute takedown reminds us in detail after detail just how mind-blowingly dumb we were for allowing this to dominate our pop culture landscape. We're going to party like it's 1999 up in this website. I cannot wait until 10 years from now when someone does this to Avatar.

Part one examines the characters. Apparently a movie needs a character you can believe in, or at least describe. How'd they do on that front? Roll it!

Part two takes a look at story. Every movie needs a story, right? How would you like a trade federation that's against trade. Sounds sexy!

Part three. So this is the plot, right? Put it in the tea!

Part four. So now there's an invasion. That must make things exciting. But why is this happening, again? And why would you make battle droids that are utterly useless at battle? Discuss.

Part five. Qui-gon Jinn says what? Why isn't Obi-Wan the star of this show? There is a pod race for some reason. And Anakin built C-3PO. That makes sense, because...

Part six. Why a light saber duel is not about the light sabers, and using George Lucas' words against him.

And now, the seventh and final part. There's way too much going on here, and way too much of it is not worth caring about. The end?

Showtime gives "Ronna & Beverly" a shot at midnight to spread the Jewish Ab-Fab word

2009-12-21T11:16:59-05:00

The Jews already have a story about a Hanukkah miracle, with oil lasting eight crazy nights. Can a pair of Boston Jewish ladies stage another miracle by turning their TV pilot on Showtime into something more, with only two airings planned after midnight at the end of the year? Ask Ronna and Beverly, who are doing just that with the screen adaptation of their long-running UCB Theatre stage show, in which they create and promote their new guide to dating, "You'll Do A Little Better Next Time." They've gotten plenty of their funny friends to spread the word in the past day on Twitter and Facebook (Rob Corddry, Rob Riggle, Thomas Lennon, Nick Kroll, Paul Scheer, Jackie Clarke, Eliza Skinner, Brian Huskey and Dan Levy, among them). Will it get you to watch? More importantly, will it get the show picked up by Showtime or another network? Let's ask them. So I did.

Here's Beverly (Jamie Denbo), whom Ronna (Jessica Chaffin) said replied with "wicked smart" answers. Does it matter that their characters are Jews from Boston? Denbo, a Boston native, said the location choice "is so specific and funny for some reason." Learn more, now!

How did you and Jessica get the show from there to Showtime? Because of the growing popularity of our stage show (in both LA and NY, primarily at UCB) over about two-and-a-half years, we felt it was time to try to pitch it as a TV project. We knew we would need to team up with a great showrunner and since Jenji (Kohan) was already a regular Ronna & Beverly fan who had been to many live shows, we asked her. We were beyond thrilled when she said yes, of course.

Did Jenji want to help you two develop the pilot because of loving you two on Weeds? (Denbo played "Raylene" in season five of the Showtime comedy, and Chaffin also has appeared on the show) Haha! Actually, we both got the Weeds gigs because Jenji loved us as Ronna & Beverly!

What can we expect from the pilot that's different and/or the same from the UCB shows? The UCB live stage show is a talk show with celebrity guests. The pilot is a single-camera narrative that follows these characters more up-close. It's in the tradition of a Curb your Enthusiasm. And while the characters themselves are a little over the top, their world is very real. We like to think of it as a little like a Jewish Ab Fab.

And what, exactly, is an "amortization move" -- I read that in Variety. Those trades can be confusing with their legal slang, can't they? I think it means that Showtime is just airing it as a one-off for their own reasons, which aren't super clear to us. Meaning at this point we have no reason to believe this will lead to a pick-up. That said, we are trying to make sure as many people as possible see it, in case a pick-up is something Showtime or someone else would actually consider.

Is there a certain level of buzz -- or more tangible ratings -- that you think you need to get from us in the comedy community to convince another network to take a chance on Ronna and Beverly? Every little bit helps. We really believe that this show has always had legs. These characters speak to people. We have had celebrities from Jon Hamm to Jeff Garlin to Paul F. Tompkins tell us that they have never had so much fun as when they are on stage with Ronna & Beverly. (I think this means these people like getting harrassed!) Our pilot had Jenji Kohan and Paul Feig at the helm and they gave it their all. We really, truly believe there is something there that people have responded to for a reason, and for that, we will do whatever we can do to put these two ladies out there. For everyone who has ever had a mother, aunt, grandmother or friend's mother embarrass them in public, this is for them. We hope you enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed making it. Every single part of developing and creating this show was a joy for us. We just want to push it as far as it can go.

Ronna and Beverly airs at 12:05 a.m. tonight on Showtime, and again at the same time on Dec. 29 on Showtime Too.

You can view the Ronna & Beverly videos on their UCB Comedy page, or their Facebook fan page, to see them channel a full level of Boston Jew weirdness with folks such as Joey McIntyre and Eli Roth. For more on that Eli Roth thing, plus the social-media aspect, here's a couple of posts from Mediaite to digest! (Click) Here's a timely video that Chaffin suggested you watch, with Ronna and Beverly visiting a bookstore to see how their book is selling. Roll the clip!

SNL #35.10 with James Franco, Muse and a dancing Mike Tyson

2009-12-20T15:27:59-05:00

It's the most wonderful time of the year for Saturday Night Live, or so you might think. End of the calendar year. Christmas on the brains. The combination sometimes makes for some comedy magic. I remember a few years ago, attending a friend of a friend's Christmas party, when everyone was socializing in the kitchen, and I ambled into the living room where what did my wandering eyes see next to the Christmas tree but a TV tuned into SNL and Justin Timberlake with Andy Samberg singing what's now an award-winning comedy tune about giving their loves a "Dick in a Box." What do we get this year?

For one thing, we don't open cold on a lackluster political bit. Hooray! No one wants to hear what you think is funny about health-care, anyhow, no matter how nice it was that SNL alum, Sen. Al Franken, shut up Sen. Joe Lieberman on the Senate floor the other day. Instead, it's another episode of "The Lawrence Welk Show," with Fred Armisen as Welk hosting among not-so tiny bubbles. Tank you, tank you, tank you. Is that really a joke about ladies and fingers to open the show? Oh my. James Franco plays some guy named Rico to sing a song, but it's all about the sister act that always switches out all of its sisters, save for Judice (Kristen Wiig, with her big forehead and tiny hands!). Judice? Is that even a thing? I thought her name was Denise? Did the Meryl Sisters switch so many sisters (Amy Poehler, Casey Wilson, Michaela Watkins and Anne Hathaway have been there, done that) that to join Abby Elliott, Jenny Slate and Nasim Pedrad, she needed a new identity? Look into it, comedy nerds! Of all of her wacked-out characters, this might be the easiest of Wiig's to digest on a recurring basis. It's between her and Target lady. Am I right? Look into it, comedy nerds! So much homework for you kids...

James Franco looks like he is so high reading his monologue. Comedy nerds do not need to look into this. Nice of him to make fun of him falling asleep during college classes, his current turn on "General Hospital" and plugging a fake movie. I could use a spinning bin filled with ideas from fans on career advice for me for 2010. Does one of them say: Get paid to make SNL better? Perfect!

Oooh. BET's "What Up With That?" is back for a third time, and this time, in the first half-hour? With guests Mike Tyson, Jack McBrayer and Lindsay Buckingham (Bill Hader). Tonight's version is even more UCB Del Close Marathonesque than usual, because this is exactly the type of comedy event that happens in the chaos of the Del Close Marathon with Jack McBrayer sitting in the middle of it, smiling and wondering what's happening all around him. The addition of the kids dressed up like Kenan Thompson is the nuts! You know what, though? Not enough dancing from Mike Tyson and Jason Sudeikis. You know what could fix that? If NBC put up the dress rehearsal version of this sketch. Done? Done! YAY! As before, Slate and Pedrad are backup singer/dancers, Armisen is not playing the sax, Will Forte is introducing the proceedings. No need for the mid-scene interlude from Wiig and Franco, really. Whatevs. In the dress, John Stockton's (Andy Samberg) drumline also actually knows how to drum. Who knew? Dress rehearsal FTW. Roll the dress rehearsal!

We're back, and James Franco is a college kid bringing a girlfriend (Elliott) home to meet his parents (Wiig, Armisen), and it's the return of the family-who-kisses-all-the-time sketch. That's the name for this, right? Hader plays the older brother who kisses Franco on the lips. There goes that rumor. Heightening, anyone? Thompson is the UPS man. Forte and Pedrad are the grandparents. Hello!

SNL Digital Short time: It's the Tizzle Wizzle Show! Pedrad, Samberg, Slate, Bobby Moynihan and Elliott are in their pajamas. Only they call them jammies! With James Franco. This is dark, my friends. Dark, dark, dark, funny. Hide the kids. Kids hidden? Grab a knife, some pills, a glowstick, and kill the lights!

Television Dominicana presents "The Manuel Ortiz Show" with host (Armisen) settling domestic disputes. Angie Cruz (Slate) needs help with her boyfriend. Angie looking like a hot mess! Franco is the boyfriend. Wait. Let's dance! Wiig is Franco's co-worker. Pedrad and Moynihan are Franoc's parents. Thompson is an assistant or something. Mucho dancing.

Hold on. Muse is playing some spaced-out rock opera that I'm famous in my own head for liking. This one's called "Uprising." Victorious!

Weekend Update with Seth Meyers. You kids need to wait for the sound effects on one of these jokes. With his guests. How jealous are Heidi and Spencer. They spent years making themselves famous for being horrible people. And here in a few short weeks, SNL has done "Jersey Shore" twice already? Moynihan plays Snooki in an inspired casting choice. "Guido is not a derogatoni word!" Check out Hader's "situation." I don't understand how people could spell this wrong, however. It's Snooki. Not Snookie! Pay attention, people. Seaside Heights, where am I?

And here are Garth & Kat (Armisen and Wiig) in matching vests for a musical duet. They thought this was happening next week, but they're ready with their new Christmas song, anyhow? Hey. We get it. It's a comedy show, right? I wish these two could sing with political comedian Nicholas Fehn.

Just when you think a sketch about a college fraternity is going to be awful, well, it's not what you think. Reading is FUNdamental! Franco, Sudeikis and Moynihan are the frat boys, and Samberg is the pledge. Explain yourselves! No, really. Explain, please?

Back into the TV vault for a trip back to 1954, and Hader as Vincent Price for a Christmas special, with his guests Katharine Hepburn (Wiig), James Dean (Franco), Liberace (Armisen) and Marilyn Monroe (Elliott). Good job, Franco! I'm an olden person. Oh, wait. What's this ending? This sketch was written by the UCB. Right?

James Franco is selling Christmas trees. It's really hard to part with loved ones, isn't it? Why does Franco love him every Christmas tree? Sudeikis, Pedrad, Thompson, Elliott, Wiig, Armisen are customers. Moynihan helps out. One of these trees should call Franco out for being a cheater. Or is this a macabre way to talk about Tiger Woods? Never forget!

Another Muse performance. I am A-Mused. This one's called "Starlight."

Five minutes to go. "Carol, hold my calls!" It's the "Fart Face" office guys (Hader and Forte) with James Franco looking and talking like Josh Brolin? Jerry, Carl and Troy, you say? Close enough. Secret Santa says dildos. Dildos, dildos, dildos. Ted Fields is a "fart face" for being allergic to dildos. FART FACE!

Wait. What's this? One more sketch? Mark Wahlberg talks to Christmas animals. Samberg is hoping Wahlberg says hi to his mother for Christmas. At least we get to see what a partridge and a pear tree looks like. And a reindeer with a red nose strapped to it. Who is the person who had to find all of these things by Saturday night? Do they get a raise for this?

I think I enjoyed this show. The duds weren't total duds. The highlights were light, and probably high. No time to wonder about all of this. In fact, time's up. See you in 2010, SNL! Merry Christmas, happy holidays and hoping all that you wish for comes true.

Amazon.com liked Bob Dylan's "comedy" CD more than yours in 2009, except for these 9 lucky comics

2009-12-18T17:38:32-05:00

Do the people at Amazon.com have a sense of humor or what? Choose wisely. Because they just posted their list of the 10 Best Comedy Albums of 2009. Did you make the cut? Let me put it this way. Were you funnier than Bob Dylan on record? Because his CD, Christmas in the Heart, came in at #10 on Amazon's list.

Sure. Why not? I bet it's a laugh riot. Here were the top nine comedy albums in Amazon.com's opinion from this year. Not sure I agree, but then again, I haven't come up with my list yet. Theirs tops out with The Lonely Island, followed by Patton Oswalt, Doug Benson, Flight of the Conchords, Eugene Mirman, Dana Gould, Maria Bamford, Jim Gaffigan and Nick Swardson. You can check them all out via this handy carousel.