Vine is a toy from Twitter that challenges users to make the most profound work ever committed to video in exactly six seconds. Or at the very least, challenges comedians to bring a little more laughter into this world. Every Tuesday we showcase five of the funniest short shorts of the past week.
Your RSS feed might be difficult and not show the videos, but trust us – they are there.
Vine is a toy from Twitter that challenges users to make the most profound work ever committed to video in exactly six seconds. Or at the very least, challenges comedians to bring a little more laughter into this world. Every Tuesday we showcase five of the funniest short shorts of the past week.
Your RSS feed might be difficult and not show the videos, but trust us – they are there.
2012 was the end of an era for the Los Angeles comedy scene, as Comedy Bang Bang, the influential weekly stand-up showcase co-created by Scott Aukerman, ended its ten year run earlier this month. Comedy Bang Bang (originally titled Comedy Death-Ray) will live in on in the form of the popular podcast and IFC show of the same name, but the live show's impact upon the L.A. comedy scene (and the comedy world at large) is endless. Comedy Bang Bang first started in 2002 when the term "alternative comedy" actually meant something, years before Zach Galifianakis was a major movie star or Louis C.K. was the country's leading [...]
The last-ever NYC edition of Kurt Braunohler and Kristen Schaal’s long-running variety show Hot Tub was held last night with Eugene Mirman and James Adomian (it apparently ended “with a dude juggling knives on a unicycle and then a class photo”), but Braunohler and Schaal are hoping to transplant the show to Los Angeles, their new home. Dust off those resumes, West Coast-based knife-juggling unicyclists!
These are some really funny shenanigans. Though the music makes it feel like a documentary about three kids who went missing in the Pacific Northwest. Why so serious? (Miss U, The Joker.) But in all seriousness, this very well made documentary really gets into Kurt's comedy brain, albeit briefly. It's the first of Scott Moran's Modern Comedian weekly web series, with nine more to come. Hopefully, they're all equally as hilarious, insightful, and moody sounding.[Via]
Here's a photo from a skywriting prank by the very funny Kurt Braunohler, who co-hosts the live Los Angeles comedy show Hot Tub with his comedy partner Kristen Schaal. Braunohler raised a bunch of money on Kickstarter to hire a skywriter to write the phrase "How do I land?" over Downtown LA, and this photo by Robyn Von Swank captures it wonderfully. The skywriting took place in March and only lasted about 20 minutes according to Braunohler, but Von Swank's picture surfaced online this week and has been racking up millions of views on Reddit.
Check out the full-sized image and a picture from Braunohler's next prank, involving [...]
The very funny Kristen Schaal has a new hour-long stand-up special debuting tonight at 12am on Comedy Central. The only reason not to watch is out of respect for Schaal, who's been doing a bit where she says she's disappointed with how the taping went and discourages people from watching it interviews and a series of tweets.
Tom Scharpling directing hilarious, polished videos for indie rockers is nothing new, but he continues to excel with the form. Here's the WFMU host's latest comedic rock opus, for Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard's new solo single "Teardrop Windows." The video stars Gibbard and Kurt Braunolher (with cameos from Twitter's Julieanne Smolinski and UCB improviser Jim Santangeli). How many amazing music videos does Scharpling have to direct before somebody lets him make a movie already?
The IFC Network has made it a habit of rescuing critically-acclaimed but unjustly-cancelled comedies like Freaks and Geeks, Arrested Development, and The Ben Stiller Show by airing their reruns years after the fact, but it seems like IFC has now orphaned a one-season comedy of its own, the Kurt Braunohler-hosted game show spoof, Bunk. During an appearance on The Best Show on WFMU last night, Braunohler announced that the cable network has cancelled Bunk, which aired a 10-episode first (and now only) season this summer. On the bright side, if the show develops a cult following of passionate and devoted fans, IFC will probably start airing Bunk reruns for nostalgia's sake 10 [...]
Sarah Colonna tweeted this picture that reveals this year's Variety "10 Comics to Watch", probably because she was super excited to be featured. Also probably excited are: Jillian Bell, Kurt Braunohler, Rob Delaney, Lil Rel Howery, Jake & Amir, Moshe Kasher, Joe Mande, Rory Scovel, and Jessica Williams. Considering its track record, this is a big break for these young comedians. Last year's list included Rebel Wilson, Amy Schumer, Harris Wittels, Chris D'Elia, and Pete Holmes and they're doing all right. The issue doesn't officially get released until 7/25, so we won't know why each was picked until then. But it's probably because they're all funny and cool and [...]
The Nerdist Podcast Network has added another promising new show to its lineup. After launching a podcast hosted by Matt Braunger earlier this month, Nerdist launched one called The K Ohle with Kurt Braunohler today. Host Kurt Braunohler, comedy partner of Kristen Schaal and host of the now-defunct IFC game show Bunk, plans to switch the format of his show up week-to-week, unlike most podcasts. Future episode formats include "PETophilia" (centered on the discussion of pets and sharing of animal stories) and "Get Lost!" (in which Braunohler blindfolds his guest and drives them far away to guess where they are and how to get back). Braunohler has [...]
In the best use of crowdfunding yet, comedian Kurt Braunohler (Bunk) created a Kickstarter campaign and successfully raised $4,000 to put the phrase "How do I land?" in the air above Los Angeles via skywriting. Fast Company has an interview with Braunohler in which he explains why crowdfunding is best used for stupid, absurd purposes like this one. It's an interesting look at how the Veronica Mars movie of skywriting humor came to be.
Between prominent roles in Bob's Burgers, The Daily Show, 30 Rock, and Flight of the Conchords, it seems like Kristen Schaal has had a part in just about every great TV comedy over the past few years. In addition to her busy TV and movie career, Schaal is also an accomplished stand-up, having hosted, with comedy partner Kurt Braunohler, the long-running, wildly-popular NYC comedy showcase Hot Tub, which just ended its run after Schaal and Braunohler both moved to the West Coast. I had the chance to watch Kristen Schaal perform an amazing, funny set at a Funny or Die showcase presented by Marriott and Wired last week and [...]
Two weeks ago, we showed you the cover of Variety's "10 Comics To Watch" issue. The issue hits newsstands this week, so finally we can get an insight onto why Jillian Bell, Kurt Braunohler, Rob Delaney, Lil Rel Howery, Jake & Amir, Moshe Kasher, Joe Mande, Rory Scovel, and Jessica Williams are so damn watchable. Read about all of these now watched comedians here.
