I just went to see Tyler Perry’s “Peeples”, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It had quite a cast with Kerry Washington, David Alan Grier, Craig Robinson, S. Epatha Merkerson, Melvin Van Peebles, (who I almost called “Van Peeples!” LOL), Diahann Carrol, Ana Gasteyer and my old friend, the beautiful, and talented Kali Hawk.
One of the posters portraying the star-studded cast of Tyler Perry's "Peeples"!
It’s not too often that you get to have a friend who’s a legitimate movie star,… especially one that you’ve known for many years. It’s a really nice feeling to be proud of someone’s accomplishments, and Kali has worked very hard to achieve what she’s gotten. Considering how young she still is, I’m almost afraid to think of how young she must have been when I first met her! (LOL)
(L-R) David Alan Grier, Kerry Washington, Tyler James Williams, Kali Hawk, and Kimrie Lewis-Davis in Peeples!
I remember her as a teenager, and how excited she’d be about watching stand-up comedy. I have this vague memory of standing with her at The Comic Strip, in the doorway to the showroom, watching the acts, while she wondered if she could do comedy. I recall going to see her perform in plays at the Theatre for the New City on the Lower East Side.
She was in high school by the tender age of 12 and in college before she was even 16. She started out doing commercials, but as gorgeous as she was, didn’t begin modeling until she moved out to LA, where she booked magazine ads and commercials for KFC, Clorox2, MTV Europe and was in several music videos for rock band Korn, Rob Zombie, Norah Jones, T.I., and Usher. It was only a matter of time until Kali made her way to the big screen.
Some years passed between the time we spoke and then in 2007, I was out in LA for a party made by Kent Emmons for a book I wrote called “Filthy, Funny, and Totally Offensive” based on my writings for the Friars Roasts, which are notoriously raunchy, and Kali came to support me.
Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with Kali Hawk in LA, for a book party in his honor, in 2007!
She looked so amazing I couldn’t stop taking pictures of her! She has grown into such an elegant woman!
Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with Kali Hawk, who's holding Jeffrey's book "Filthy, Funny and Totally Offensive" but he didn't let her look inside!
Before “Peeples”, she was seen in the Lion’s Gate thriller ‘Holla’, alongside actor Michael Bergin. She would follow that project with a supporting role in the Spike Lee comedy “Lovers & Haters”, playing a scathing Hollywood diva opposite singer/superstar Mariah Carey, I saw her in “Get Him To The Greek” with Russell Brand, and Jonah Hill, and she played Trudy in “Couples Retreat,” another star-studded movie written by Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau.
On TV, she has also appeared on the hit CW sitcom ‘The Game’, executive produced by Kelsey Grammer, was accepted as a cast member for the ill-fated remake of “In Living Color” that unfortunately did not come to fruition, and worked with my boy Tony Rock, on a TV project he was starring in. Tony was the featured performer in a sold out show at the Westbury Theatre on Long Island, that I co-produced starring the one and only Kevin Hart!
(L-R) Jordan Rock, Jeffrey Gurian, Tony Rock, Richie Tienken and down in front Sherrod Small backstage at Westbury with Kevin Hart!
Jeffrey Gurian from Comedy Matters TV with Kevin Hart at a promo event for their concert at Westbury!
Tony is also the new host of the Jamie Foxx remake of “Live At The Apollo”, aptly named “Apollo Live” shooting right here in Harlem, NYC! I went to the opening of the first season to cheer him on. Tony is amazingly funny, and the nicest guy you’d ever wanna meet!
Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV, Tony Roberts, Tony Rock, and Jordan Rock backstage at The Apollo!
So “Peeples” was exciting to me because Kali had so much screen time. She plays Gloria Peeples the lesbian daughter of Virgil Peeples played so well by David Alan Grier.
A cast shot of "Peeples" with Kali Hawk's name on the big screen! Go Kali!
I hadn’t seen David since last summer in Montreal during the Just for Laughs Festival when he came in to kibbitz with Adam Carolla right in the middle of my interview with him. It was actually funny, because the door was closed, and we were backstage after Adam’s show, but nobody’s gonna tell David that he can’t come in, so he did! (LOL) And it turned out very funny, because as I recall he was trying to distract me, and we all had a good laugh!
Craig Robinson is also a great guy, and we did a cool interview together on the red carpet of the Comedy Central Comedy Awards.
Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with Craig Robinson at a Comedy Central event at The Monkey Bar in NYC!
I’m heading out to LA in about ten days to shoot my third appearance on Comedy Central’s hit “Kroll Show” and I really hope to be able to get the chance to congratulate Kali in person!
If someone told you you had to go on the radio for an hour and 40 minutes straight you might wonder to yourself if you had enough to say. On today’s Keith and The Girl appearance after almost two hours we were just warming up! I swear we could have gone another two hours easy! The flow was amazing and they are extremely gracious hosts!
The very descriptive and accurate logo for "Keith and The Girl", (whose name is Chemda, btw!) This happens to be exactly what they look like! (JK!)
My curiousity was piqued last month when I attended a couple of nights of their 8th anniversary celebration which they held out in Brooklyn at a performance space called White Wave. They literally had fans fly in from all over the world. Right around me were people from Australia, Toronto, Europe, Colorado, California, and all of them had gone to great trouble and expense to come in and celebrate with KATG!
Keith and Chemda in a very accurate portrayal of what they REALLY look like, during their 8th anniversary celebration!
People like Ted Alexandro say I know everyone in comedy.
So I was embarrassed to admit that KATG had escaped my comedy radar. And for eight years??? How could that even happen? That’s when I made it my business to find out more about KATG, and I’m so glad I did.
They have a super studio in Queens, whose exact location will not be divulged. Suffice it to say that it’s hidden inside of a mountain and when you approach and yell out a secret word, which they give you before you arrive, the mountain actually splits open, and you walk in, like Moses parting The Red Sea! It’s incredible.
A candid shot of Keith and Chemda in the studio, getting ready to do the KATG podcast and videocast as well!
I started out strong when they asked me my favorite movie and I said “The Sixth Sense.” It seems that was Keith’s favorite movie as well and no one else had ever said that. Then they were both ready to fall out of their chairs when I told them my favorite color was orange, which also happened to be Keith’s favorite color. And anyone who knows me knows that’s true. It’s the color of The Second Chakra and a very powerful color.
We went on to talk about everything. We talked about my new book, “Make ‘Em Laugh”, about the 35 year history of The Comic Strip, comedy legends like Andy Kaufman, Jack Rollins, and Milton Berle, young stars not with us anymore like Patrice O’Neal, Mitch Hedberg, Mike DeStefano, Greg Giraldo, movies, music, Healing which was an amazing discussion where we found out that Chemda has Healing energy, and she thinks she’d like to use it!
Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with his great friend, the late Patrice O'Neal!
Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with the late Mitch Hedberg at one of his last performances in NYC!
Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with the late Mike DeStefano after he was on Last Comic Standing!
Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with the late Greg Giraldo at a party at Comix in NYC!
We talked about the comedy clubs and gave shout-outs to The Comic Strip, Gotham Comedy Club, and The Comedy Cellar. We talked about high school, and about how and why kids are so mean to each other, dating, sexuality, and almost every subject on the planet, and we had lots of laughs and a really good time.
We even talked about You Pop the new social media craze that’s sweeping the country where creative people can get paid for making cool little videos on their cell phones and uploading them to the YouPop.com site to be offered to the world at large!
You Pop, the most exciting social media craze to come along since Facebook!
To show you just what a good time we had, I didn’t check my e-mail even once during the two hours! It flew by so fast, I couldn’t believe it when Chemda told me how much time had gone by. Then I got the tour of the premises and got to see Lauren again, Chemda’s significant other, plus I got to see the office where they keep their merch and it’s loaded with goodies, except it’s lighter now cause they gave me a whole bunch of presents.
Chemda and Lauren at the 8th anniversary of KATG!
They gave me audio books that you wear on your wrist like a bracelet. I never even saw something like that. I’m not Bill Gates but I’m familiar with lots of technology, and this was really cool. It’s like a thumb drive and you get the book as an MP3.
I got their books, “The Great American Novel” by Keith, and “What Do We Do Now” a modern advice book for modern couples written by both of them. And I had to once again give them props for having been a couple, broken up, and still working together with such a cool dynamic. They are truly good friends. It’s a testament to what people can accomplish if they really want to.
Chemda hiding behind one of the KATG T-shirts while Keith proudly displays his "State of the Union" DVD.
But that’s not all, I also got Keith’s “State of the Union” DVD, and the Keith and The Girl Roast, with cartoon drawings on the back of some of the comics who participated and who you can actually recognize! One I’m sure is Mike Lawrence because the character has a huge beard!
They called my segment ” Healing Hands”, and you can actually listen to the whole thing right here:
http://www.keithandthegirl.com/Show-Detail/2653/Healing-Hands.aspx#
I really hope they invite me back!
Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with Keith Malley and Chemda Khalili of KATG!
There’s a new social media game in town and it’s name is You Pop. I broke the news recently on Sirius XM during my one-on-one interview with Ron Bennington of Ron and Fez fame!
YouPop, the new social media craze that will soon sweep the nation! Sign up early! Not only is it free, but you can get paid to sign up!
Created by Darin Myman of WallyWorld Inc., the company’s logo is “Hire Anyone To Do Anything, … Well Almost!”
It’s a way for any creative or talented person in the world to make money over their Smart Phones and become a You Pop star! It’s good for comedians, actors, musicians, models, dancers, magicians, and any other creative person! And I have the honor of being the Chief Creative Officer!
Based on the concept of “Crowd Sourced” entertainment, it allows creative people to offer their specialized services and funny video greetings over their Smart Phones for a price of their choosing. The feeling is the lower the price the more traffic and the more money you can expect to make. The cool thing is that you can make money just for signing up!
The first thing to do is to “Register” at http://www.youpop.com. Once you click “Register” you’ll come to a page that asks for a User Name and PassWord, and then a “Referral/Promo Code.”
This is the page where you register for YouPop!
The “Referral/Promo Code” for Comedy Matters people is JG20. Putting in that code will allow you to register early under my name as this won’t be launched nationally to the public for another 30 days. Then there will be a national ad campaign. Once that happens you can get lost in the shuffle so it’s best to sign up now!
Get a cash bonus of anywhere from $20 to $60. and possibly even more for coming up with a fun, interesting concept! Anything in the "Sexy" category,(PG-13), will get paid $75. if accepted!
It’s as easy as signing up for Facebook, except here you can make money and have lots of fun doing it!
You’ll come to a page that has a few options, one of which says ” I Will Do”. That is where you post things you are willing to do and videotape yourself doing them on your Smart Phone, (i-Phones and Droids). You fill out a simple profile and explain what you will offer. They can fall into different categories like custom video greetings with you dressed up as a Biblical character, a comic book character, (great for Comic Con fans), any kind of Cosplay character, movie characters, old man/old lady, Anime, or anything else you can think of.
Examples of "Sports Stars" posting services they are willing to do under the " I Will Do" category!
You may also respond to people requesting video greetings where You Pop customers tell you what they want you to say, (PG-13) … nothing you’d find offensive. Offers get screened by the company! These would be found under the heading of ” I Need” and would be great for people who like to make viral comedy videos, and do pranks and dares!
Situations that people request that would lead to viral comedy videos, pranks and dares, and lots of fun!
Or you might find people posting a service like this one where the offer is to design a custom dress for a woman for $250.00. It’s like a multi-media CraigsList!
This is for people who want to offer a particular service!
It’s all PG-13, but there will also be a fun “Sexy” category for models and “hot” girls who may want to write messages on their bodies, wearing a bikini, or lingerie or other interesting attire! Signing up for this category and posting an idea the You Pop people like will get you $75. just for signing up!
Some examples of possible offers could be:
1. I will say anything to anyone for $10.
2. I will break up with your boyfriend or girlfriend for you for $15.
3. I will drive a store clerk crazy by asking non-stop questions for $20.
4. I will quit your job for you for $25.
5. I will tell off someone in your office for $10.
HOW AND WHAT TO DO :
1. Register using my Promo/Referral Code of JG20
2. Send an e-mail to Jo@YouPop.com, with a CC to me at jeffrey@jeffreygurian.com with the category and character you plan to portray for the video greeting cards, along with your idea. Like a birthday greeting dressed as Batman, Spiderman, or a character you make up! Comedians may want to offer a one minute Roast! BE CREATIVE!!!
3. You Pop will notify you if your offer has been accepted, and you will be paid anywhere from $20 to $60. or more depending on how unusual and fun your suggestion is. As I said earlier, people in the “Sexy” category, (but still PG-13!) will receive $75. YOU CAN EVEN BE YOURSELF, BUT HAVING A CHARACTER OR SPECIAL GIMMICK (SUCH AS WRITING A MESSAGE ON YOUR BODY WEARING A BATHING SUIT OR COSTUME), WILL GET YOU MORE ORDERS! All sign-up payments will be received in a week.
REVIEW OF COMPENSATION:
IF YOUR SUGGESTION IS APPROVED BY YOU POP, YOU WILL RECEIVE $50. FOR YOUR IDEA, FOR SETTING UP YOUR PROFILE AND YOUR “I WILL DO” VIDEO OFFER. THEY WILL PAY AN ADDITIONAL $10. FOR COSTUMES, CELEBRITY IMPERSONATORS OR UNIQUE CHARACTERS.
MODELS: THEY WILL PAY $75. TO SET UP A PROFILE UNDER THE CATEGORY OF “SEXY”, AS LONG AS IT’S STILL PG-13!
YOU WILL RECEIVE PAYMENT WITHIN 7 DAYS VIA PAYPAL OR CHECK! YOU CAN OFFER TO POST AN AD IN MORE THAN ONE CATEGORY, AND YOU CAN ADD ON CERTAIN SERVICES FOR ADDITIONAL FEES, BUT YOU WILL ONLY BE PAID A SIGN-UP BONUS FOR YOUR FIRST ACCEPTED PROPOSAL!
YOU ALSO GET PAID 85% OF MONIES THAT COME IN FOR YOUR SERVICE WHEN YOU POP PUTS IT OUT TO THE WORLD AT LARGE!
SO WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR??? GET CREATIVE AND SEND IN YOUR IDEAS RIGHT NOW TO JO@YOUPOP.COM WITH A CC TO JEFFREY@JEFFREYGURIAN.COM, AND DON’T FORGET TO USE THE COMEDY MATTERS PROMO CODE OF JG20!
SEE YOU ON YOU POP!!!
Most movies I don’t even see once, so it’s extremely rare that I see a movie twice. Halley Feiffer’s “He’s Way More Famous Than You” was the opening night film of this year’s Friars Club Comedy Film Festival, which was the first time I saw it, and I felt compelled to see it again.
Film poster for "He's Way More Famous Than You!", now playing at the AMC Loew's in the East Village!
What’s so interesting about this film,… besides it being really funny,… is that some of it is based in truth with all of the characters playing themselves.
Halley Feiffer plays a sweet, sensitive alcoholic who had a small part in Noah Baumbach’s 2005 film “The Squid and the Whale.” In real life she played Jesse Eisenberg’s girlfriend in that very same film. In HWMFTY she finds herself struggling in life and her career. She loses her agent, her boyfriend, played by Michael Churnus, and what’s left of her career, and goes out to make a movie that will put her on top.
Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with the super-funny and talented Halley Feiffer, co-writer and star of "He's Way More Famous Than You!" To Halley's right you can see almost every part of Michael Churnus except his face! (LOL)
Through many funny contrivances, and lots of begging, with a touch of synchronicity thrown in, she gets an amazing star-studded cast like Ben Stiller, Natasha Lyonne, Mamie Gummer, Ralph Maccio, Jesse Eisenberg, Tracee Chimo, Michael Chernus, Liz Holtan, Austin Pendleton, and Vanessa Williams to play the roles she created with her co-writer and co-star Ryan Spahn.
Michael Urie, Halley Feiffer, and Ryan Spahn on the red carpet at the Friars Club Comedy Film Festival!
Natasha Lyonne playing Halley Feiffer's A.A. sponsor in "He's Way More Famous Than You"!
And she gets Michael Urie who will forever be known as “the gay guy from Ugly Betty” to also co-star and direct.
Michael Urie and Ryan Spahn are together in real life but in the movie Ryan plays Halley’s brother!
Michael Urie, Jeffrey Gurian from Comedy Matters TV and Ryan Spahn, the director and co-writer from "He's Way More Famous Than You!"
Ralph Maccio and Mamie Gummer in a scene from "He's Way More Famous Than You!"
Geoffrey Soffer is the producer of the film, who also has quite a history as a casting director! One of his accomplishments was casting the final two seasons of the hit TV show “Ugly Betty”, which is a show that quite a few people in this film are connected to as well.
From 2003 to 2008, Geoffrey was a casting director at ABC/ABC Studios where his credits include the original pilots of “Army Wives”. “Miss/Guided” produced by Ashton Kutcher, “Dirty Sexy Money”, and the Sam Raimi produced series, “Legend of the Seeker.”
This past Friday the film opened at AMC Loews Theatre on 11th Street and Third Avenue in Manhattan, and I knew I had to be there to support it. Seeing a film for the second time gives you so much more insight into the action and the characters. I can see why people go to see a movie they like several times. Every time you watch it you catch something you didn’t see before.
Step into Theatre 6 to see "He's Way More Famous Than You!"
Ben Stiller and Halley Feiffer in a scene from "He's Way More Famous Than You!"
I’ll tell you two inside facts. The amazing scene where Halley is bicycling through Times Square was shot by producer Geoffrey Soffer from the back of his “hatchback”, as he described it, and the “film-within-a-film” shooting scene where Ryan Spahn’s character gets abruptly replaced by Ralph Maccio because according to Halley’s character “he’s way more famous than you”, was shot on Vanessa Williams gorgeous estate!
This is a fun film you really need to see, and I’m even more impressed with Halley Feiffer’s comedic chops than I was when I saw it the first time!
Making a purposeful effort to make a home for myself at The Comedy Cellar, the legendary club owned by Noam Dworman and frequented by every major comedy star who hits New York, I went down on a Tuesday to catch their weekly podcast, “Live From The Table”, which this week featured the always hysterical Kurt Metzger and Dan Naturman. I was a guest a few weeks ago and had a blast!
The welcoming sign of "The Comedy Cellar" on MacDougal Street in NYC!
The logo from "Live From The Table" the weekly Comedy Cellar podcast!
Sitting at the bar chatting with Marina Franklin, we were soon joined by Tom (The Marriage Ref) Papa who invited me to stop by his monthly Sirius XM radio show which started right after the podcast at the Comedy Cellar’s other space, The Village Underground, conveniently located literally right around the corner.
"Come to Papa" poster at The Village Underground for Tom's Sirius XM radio show!
Sexy fairy Marina Franklin onstage at The Village Underground for Tom Papa's "Come to Papa" on Sirius XM radio!
What a beautiful space! A really nicely appointed room with lots of tables, dim lighting, big screen TV’s to be able to see well from all over the room, and for the last month or so, comedy as well. Tom hosts a show appropriately called “Come To Papa” which is kind of a throwback to something I had never really seen but only heard of, “scripted radio.” Before TV was invented in this country and even afterwards when people started to buy them thanks to Mr. Television himself, the legendary Milton Berle, most people listened to scripted radio shows for entertainment.
Tom Papa on one of the big screen viewers at The Village Underground, making it easy for everyone to see the show!
It’s hard to believe there was actually a time before TV, but when Milton Berle had his Texaco Star Theatre, people would gather in the streets to watch TV through the store windows of appliance stores selling TV’s, and thanks to the popularity of his show, so many TV’s were sold that that’s how he got the nick-name “Mr. Television.”
I had the honor of being sponsored in The Friars Club by Milton Berle who I also had the honor of writing jokes for, and who I considered a friend.
Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV in LA, with his friend and sponsor in The Friars Club, the legendary Milton Berle, circa 1984!
Before TV, in the 1930′s and 40′s, families would huddle around the radio to hear their favorite shows, and their favorite comedians like Fred Allen, Jack Benny, Victor Borge, Fanny Brice, Jimmy Durante, Phil Harris, Bob Hope, Groucho Marx, Red Skelton and Ed Wynn.
They also got to hear shows like Abbott and Costello, Amos ‘n’ Andy, Burns and Allen, Fibber McGee and Molly, The Goldbergs, The Great Gildersleeve, and Our Miss Brooks, which I know went on to become a TV show in the 1950′s.
Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with comedy icon George Burns, Catskill Mountains, circa 1983!
Radio comedy ran the gamut from small town humor like that of Herb Shriner and Minnie Pearl to the weekly “gag shows” like Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One and Can You Top This?, panel programs devoted to the art of telling jokes.
So Tom Papa had a rich history to compete with and from what I saw he’s doing it well. He was joined by comics Cynthia Koury, who doubled as the MC, Dan Soder, the same Kurt Metzger from the “Live at the Table” podcast, Rick Crom who used his deep resonant voice as the announcer, and I stayed long enough to see a mix of stand-up, and written sketches where the comics read from scripts, before I had to run and cover my next event.
Comic Cynthia Koury holding it down on the stage of The Village Underground on "Come to Papa!"
(L-R) Kurt Metzger, Dan Soder, Rick Crom, and Tom Papa onstage at The Village Underground!
The event was produced by Aaron Hodges from Sirius XM radio who was kind enough to tell me he enjoyed my performance on Kroll Show in Too Much Tuna with Nick Kroll and John Mulaney!
Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV playing himself on the set of Kroll Show with Nick Kroll, and John Mulaney as the "Oh, Hello" boys. After shooting the sketch "Too Much Tuna!"
The reaction of the audience and the strength of the performances I saw makes me want to attend regularly, and I can’t wait for the next one when I can stay for the entire show! Even better, Noam himself invited me back!
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