Yearly Archives: 2015

One more SNL40 remembrance, this from Denny Dillon, who was in the 1980-1981 cast, i.e., The Jean Doumanian Years. I don't think there was much chance the special would show any real highlights from non-Lorne years unless they featured Eddie Murphy…and they didn't even have many clips of him.

I always felt a little sorry for the performers who got trapped in that season, the season in which a new cast was thrown together from disparate backgrounds and expected to quickly become a team that equaled how great everyone thought Chevy, Gilda, Dan, John, Laraine, Bill, Jane and Garrett had been. Even with a great producer, that would have been a nearly-impossible expectation to meet. Ms. Dillon did some funny things during her brief time on that show.

[NOTE: The link to this piece has been removed. Here's why.]

BBC Radio is currently offering a half-hour profile of Stan Laurel. Click here to listen to it. I know not how long it will be online.

Carrol Spinney is…Big Birdman.

Badges for this year's Comic-Con International in San Diego went on sale this morning and were all gone in about the time it takes The Flash to blink twice after being maced. As usual, the number of available badges was much smaller than the number who wanted them so we have some angry and/or desperate folks around who didn't snag one.

Some will find other ways to get in. One source is that in a few months, there should be a sale of whatever badges were purchased today and are then returned to the con for refunds by people who find themselves unable to attend. Others find ways of getting badges from exhibitors.

Some will simply not get in. Others will decide that while they may not be able to gain admission to the convention hall, they can have a great time in the street fair that surrounds the con every year.

One thing you should not do: Do not purchase badges from any source but the convention itself. Badges are non-transferable and sometimes they are counterfeit.

One other thing you should not do: Do not contact me to ask if I can get you in. I am a Special Guest, not a member of the staff there, no matter how many panels I host.

As the above-linked article suggests, dickering is still going on about keeping the Comic-Con in San Diego after its current contract expires, which it will following the 2016 shindig. Even though the convention center may not get its long-promised expansion for some time, I believe the con will remain in San Diego. Why do I think this? Because the folks in San Diego who operate the convention center and nearby businesses would have to have the brains of a glue-sniffing gerbil to let the con get away. A particularly stupid glue-sniffing gerbil.

In the meantime: Badges are still available for WonderCon Anaheim, which is run by the same folks and which takes place at the Anaheim Convention Center from April 3 to April 5. It's kind of like Comic-Con Lite and while it does have only about a third the attendance, it also has an exhibit hall too large to fully explore and it has panels (five of them hosted by me) and a lot of the same magic, including all the parking difficulties you love so much at Comic-Con. I'll tell you more about WonderCon as we near its dates. I always have a good time there and you can, too.

This article explains the difference between corned beef and pastrami. To me, the big difference is that no matter what restaurant or deli I eat in, I always find the corned beef quite edible but occasionally find the pastrami too spicy. Once in a while, I find them close to indistinguishable. So if I'm going to order either, I go with the corned beef. And yes, I've tried the pastrami at Langer's in downtown L.A.

The surest indicator that Hillary Clinton will not be the next President of the United States: Bill Kristol thinks she's going to win. I'm about 30% serious about this.

The chance and quantity of rain for tomorrow in Los Angeles has been bumped up so it looks like it will rain on the Academy Awards. Given how much of the U.S. is getting repeatedly snowbound, that may seem like no big deal…but come on. These are wealthy movie stars with expensive outfits and precision hair-dos. They're not supposed to get rained-on.

I saw almost none of the nominated movies this past year but here are my guesses based on industry buzz: Boyhood for Best Picture, Alejandro González (Birdman) for Best Director, Michael Keaton (Birdman) for Best Actor, Julianne Moore (Still Alice) for Best Actress, J.K. Simmons (Whiplash) for Best Supporting Actor, Patricia Arquette (Boyhood) for Best Supporting Actress, The Grand Budapest Hotel for Best Original Screenplay, The Imitation Game for Best Adapted Screenplay and beyond that, your guess is not only as good as mine but probably better.

I was kidding about Meryl Streep always winning. I think Into the Woods will be overlooked.

I'll also predict that Neil Patrick Harris will be a great host, that he's planning something that will try to out-Tweet Ellen De Generes' selfie stunt last year, and that there'll be several remarks about the non-nomination of Selma or black people. Also, at least one person will utter one of those gross exaggerations of how many people are watching worldwide, and after the show, the Internet will be abuzz with folks saying it was The Worst Oscars Ever and also complaining about some egregious omissions from the In Memoriam reel.

My Big Tip: Record the thing on your TiVo or other D.V.R., wait until around 90 minutes into the show and then start watching and doing a lot of Fast-Forwarding. I try to get caught up to the live broadcast in time to watch the last half-hour as it happens. It's never that bad a show if you can get it down to around half its actual length.

Gary Kroeger was a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1982 to 1985 and now he's fixing to run for Congress from the district that includes Cedar Falls, Iowa.

He's posted his recollections of the SNL40 evening, including being introduced to Sarah Palin. She was told he was a Democrat and she said, "They're not all bad." Wonder if she ever says that in front of Republican crowds.

This is another one of those folks who create amazing a cappella music videos. This is Danny Fong with "When You Wish Upon A Star."

I have an odd fondness for that song even though I disagree fundamentally with its philosophy. I don't think there's anything wrong with wishing upon a star or praying to your god(s)…as long as you don't mistake that for actually doing something to make something happen…

After Jessica Williams squelched speculation that she would be sitting in the Jon Stewart chair, some women criticized her for…well, for not reacting as they would have reacted. Or maybe they felt she was poised to knock down a barrier that women — especially black women — face and that she owed it to her sex to claim that beachhead. Yeah…late night comedy is male-dominated. But Ms. Williams may have other plans for her future and given her age and lack of years in the biz, it's not insulting to women that she says she's unqualified at this time.

Under a heading of "sexist bullshit," one of her critics wrote, "Jessica Williams, respectfully, I reject your humility. What on earth does 'under-qualified' mean when it comes to being a comedian? You're smart, you're funny, you're self-possessed. Is there something I'm missing?" Yeah. You're missing that Jon Stewart did more on that show than just deliver funny material. He set the tone for the program, wrote material and rewrote what others wrote, dealt with the network, selected new correspondents, went on other shows and did interviews to promote and defend The Daily Show and handled a zillion other duties that went with the title of Executive Producer.

His replacement, whoever it is, may not do all that but they'll have to do some of it. This is not a job that every funny person can do…or would want to tackle.

So many criticisms that I see of people in show business fall into the general category of "How dare they not run their careers the way I would?" There were articles faulting Craig Ferguson for not demanding or somehow getting David Letterman's chair. Well, maybe he didn't want it the way you'd want it. Or maybe he did, decided it was ungettable and decided it was better to say he didn't want it. Whatever the reason, he had his reasons.

Why wouldn't Jessica Williams want to follow in Jon Stewart's footsteps? Well, not feeling she's up to the demands of the job would be a good enough justification. So would a concern about the expectations that will be dumped upon whoever gets the gig. So would preferring to maybe follow in the footsteps of Steve Carrell or Rob Corddry or other former Daily Show correspondents who've gone on to pretty fine careers in films or prime-time TV. So would just plain feeling you're still learning to swim and not quite ready yet for the deep end of the pool.

I don't know her specific thoughts. I do know though that I wouldn't insult Ms. Williams by presuming I have a better idea of what's good for her than she does. One of the key tenets of the Women's Rights movement is to not be forced into someone else's template for how all people of your gender should live or think.

Moreover, one of the key points for anyone is not to be forced to move to the next higher level just because it's the next higher level. Years ago, I had an ongoing battle with one of my agents. Every time I was offered a writing job in television, he had this knee-jerk response. He'd say, "I'm going to demand they make you Producer."

I had to keep stopping him. On some shows, it would have meant a few more bucks and a more impressive (to some) title. On others, it would have meant 20% more money for 200% more hours…and the hours would have been spent on administrative responsibilities or dealing with networks or budgets when I'd rather just write. That's assuming I even had the skills to be Producer…and in some situations, I did not.

You do not have to grab every opportunity to move to the next highest rung on any ladder. Sometimes, as per the Peter Principle, you advance to your Level of Incompetence, leaving a job you can do and moving to one you can't. Sometimes, moving up means you embed yourself so deep in a situation, you can't get out or do other things you want to do.

I think Jessica Williams is going to be a big, big star. I don't know where and she and her agents might not be so sure at the moment. Success does involve both talent and sage career management…and sage career management often involves saying no to good offers because they're not the right good offer. And it especially involves not listening to what someone else thinks is right for you. They, unlike you, have nothing to lose by being wrong.

Rudy Giuliani, who now lives to disappoint, recently declared that Barack Obama doesn't love America. When even some fellow Republicans scolded him for that, he stood by his statement but insisted he wasn't trying to impugn the president's patriotism. Yeah, right. Giuliani biographer Wayne Barrett reminds us of the former mayor's dysfunctional love life and draft avoidance.

You probably haven't thought much about O.J. Simpson lately. Neither have I. Still, I came across this brief commentary by Keith Olbermann that makes, I think, a very good point about him and about the way celebrity wrongdoing is no longer as ignored as it once was. If you can spare six minutes, watch this…

I only plug one Kickstarter project about every 3-4 months. This is the only one 'til April.

Last year, my pal Jackie Estrada successfully Kickstarted her book, Comic Book People, a collection of photos she'd taken of folks at comic book conventions in the seventies and eighties. Despite the fact that I was among them, folks ponied up the money, the book was published and from what I can tell, everyone liked it. If you didn't get one, you can now order a copy on Amazon.

Now, she's back with Comic Book People 2. This is currently on Kickstarter, looking for funding and you oughta hustle over there and pledge the bucks necessary to get your own copy. This one covers the nineties, an exciting time in comics…and Jackie's camera and keen eye were around to capture its star players.

Among those you'll find in this volume are Will Eisner, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, Vin Sullivan, Paul Norris, Martin Nodell, Chad Grothkopf, Al Williamson, Sheldon Moldoff, Bob Kane, Gene Colan, Marie Severin, Irwin Hasen, Harry Lampert, Ric Estrada, Bill Ward, Ramona Fradon, Bob Haney, Nick Cardy, Paul S. Newman, Dan Barry, Carmine Infantino, John Buscema, Frank Frazetta, Neil Gaiman, George Perez, Grant Morrison, Garth Ennis, Peter David, John Byrne, Chris Claremont, Kevin Eastman, Mark Waid, Alex Ross, Dave McKean, Frank Miller, Todd McFarlane, Rob Liefeld, Dave Sim, Jeff Smith, Terry Moore, Linda Medley, Billy Tucci, Colleen Doran, David Lapham, Carla Speed McNeil, James Kochalka, Chris Ware, Dean Haspiel, Evan Dorkin, Sarah Dyer, Donna Barr, Shannon Wheeler, Scott McCloud, Paul Pope, Roberta Gregory and many more. That's Dan Clowes and Chester Brown in the above sample photo.

If many of those names are familiar to you, you probably want a copy. I sure do. Go pledge and make this book a reality.

Norm Macdonald has been Tweeting his memories of working on the SNL40 special. This website has collected them all into sort of an article.