Amazon.com is continuing to develop its slate of original TV series, with a strong emphasis on comedy. The online retailer just announced six comedy pilots today, according to Deadline. Five of the shows are from TV industry veterans like Garry Trudeau, The Onion, and several Daily Show alums, while the sixth, Those Who Can't, is from a group of newcomers. Amazon offered to look at submissions from anyone who wanted to pitch a show a few months ago, and Those Who Can't is the first to be picked up from 2,000 series ideas they looked over. Once these six pilots are finished, they'll be posted on Amazon Instant [...]
Jim Norton took to the red carpet of the Grammys to ask stars from Steve Martin to Adele to hold up his non-nominated 2011 standup album Despicable and related merchandise onstage. It's a pretty funny idea, and it highlights the fact that you rarely see successful album or book releases from comedians these days without a high-profile promotional stunt behind them. It seems that it's barely even worth writing and releasing a funny book if you don't also have a great, original idea to promote it virally online.
David Javerbaum, former head writer and executive producer of The Daily Show, has 11 Emmys, 2 Grammys, and 2 Peabodys. He's co-written America (The Book) and Earth (The Book) with other Daily Show writers, and What to Expect When You're Expected: A Fetus' Guide to the First Three Trimesters solo. Now, after conquering such featherweight topics as the country, the planet, and the creation of life, Javerbaum has found a writing partner who may be even more powerful than Jon Stewart: God.
Javerbaum's latest book, The Last Testament: A Memoir, is out in stores today. His Godly voice is already popular on Twitter, where it enlightens his 46 [...]
