Judd Apatow, Carl Reiner & Mel Brooks kick off #ComedyFest, Twitter’s week-long comedy festival in association with Comedy Central
Comedy legends Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner, along with MC Judd Apatow, headlined a rollicking live stream yesterday at the Paley Center in Beverly Hills produced by LA-based Boxer Films. The event kicked off #ComedyFest, Comedy Central’s week long comedy event currently taking place on Twitter, and the occasion for Mel Brooks’ first tweet @MelBrooks.
Boxer Films/Random Content Executive Producer Lawrence O’Flahavan crafted the idea for the event, selling the concept of a live kickoff featuring Brooks and Reiner to Twitter’s Creative Director of Media Partnerships Fred Graver as a means to promote Reiner’s “I Remember Me” iBook produced by Boxer Films’ Random Content division. Comedy Central President of Original Programming Kent Alterman soon came on board, and Judd Apatow signed on as a presenter.
Boxer played a multi-faceted role in the event, producing the comedy legends’ live stream, editing the promo for the show and providing a twitter feed component which enabled the three comedians to field a Q & A using tweeted questions from notables including Ron Howard as well as audience members and Twitter users. Boxer Films/Random Content produced the I Remember Me iBook promo showcasing the features of the unique rich media release.
During the live stream, Reiner often served as straight man to Brooks’ comedic jabs. For instance, when Reiner called the humor in Blazing Saddles “vulgarity in good taste,” Brooks countered “like being a sensitive rapist.” Brooks took the occasion to commemorate late beloved collaborators Richard Prior (“the funniest comic that ever lived”), Madeline Kahn (“I didn’t have to direct her in Blazing Saddles – she directed herself”) and Anne Bancroft (“I got lucky. Very lucky.”) The two legends discussed what makes something funny, and whether that had changed over their decades-long careers, in response to a tweet. “Making fun of the things around us,” was Reiner’s ageless formula for laughs, whereas Brooks chided him, “Carl was always political. And always bald.”
#ComedyFest’s star-studded lineup whereby Brooks and Reiner will tweet alongside popular young comics like Amy Schumer and the director Paul Feig, many providing brief videos via Twitter’s new video sharing service Vine which, like Twitter, has a length limit (six seconds.) Noted Twitter’s Graver during his introduction of the comedy greats, “With comedians, there’s a new golden age on Twitter.”
“Entering the business of producing iBooks, live events and promos, through Boxer’s new Random Content division, is exciting,” says Film Director/Executive Producer Lawrence O’Flahavan. “We’ll announce many more such projects in the near future.”
About Random Content
Random Content is the digital content arm of Boxer, a Los Angeles production company comprised of filmmakers, editors, and development minds. LA-based Boxer Films is an ideas machine where collaboration has produced award-winning results since 1999. Through its Random Content division, Boxer breaks new ground in iBook production, branded content, interactive and broadcast. Founder/EP John Clark and Executive Producer/Director Lawrence O’Flahavan have assembled a team whose experience in strategy, marketing, design and technology creates engaging new ways to tell stories in every possible medium. From digital initiatives to groundbreaking apps, we work with our partners to conceive, produce and distribute memorable entertainment.