To Any Comedy Writers in Here...or those

Collapse

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • To Any Comedy Writers in Here...or those

    attempting comedy.

    What are some specific rules, theories, phenomenons you've uncovered over the years?
    "I ask every producer I meet if they need TV specs they say yeah. They all want a 40 inch display that's 1080p and 120Hz. So, I quit my job at the West Hollywood Best Buy."
    - Screenwriting Friend

  • #2
    Re: To Any Comedy Writers in Here...or those

    You might think it's funny, but nobody else does.

    An ex comedy writer.
    http://wasitsomethingiwrote.blogspot.com/

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: To Any Comedy Writers in Here...or those

      Life is easy, comedy is hard.

      -Ancient Proverb

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: To Any Comedy Writers in Here...or those

        watch the gong show

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: To Any Comedy Writers in Here...or those

          Comedy is hard. Cinematic comedy, harder. The higher the concept, the better - Liar, Liar, Tootsie, Some Like It Hot (Sorority Boys, Juwanna Man, not)

          And then execution, knowing how to exploit the humor in your concept.

          The best example of non-high concept comedy I can think of is The Graduate (could be argued it's not non-high concept), Monty Python & The Holy Grail Animal House, and There's Something About Mary (The Farrelly's best movie.) According to one of the writers of Animal House, it took three writers about three years before a shooting draft.

          The reality of the comedy in the Graduate is probably one of my favorite examples of what it means to be funny on film. Dustin Hoffman is just being a college grad.

          You don't necessarily have to be funny to write film comedy, but you have to think funny, think very funny.

          UK is right about "the funny." I wrote sketch comedy and some things we thought were going to kill and instead died on stage.


          But for surefire laughs: a fart gag. Fart gags kill.
          #writinginaStarbucks #re-thinkingmyexistence #notanotherweaklogline #thinkingwhatwouldWilldo

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: To Any Comedy Writers in Here...or those

            ire you just sticked up the board

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: To Any Comedy Writers in Here...or those

              Originally posted by roscoegino
              attempting comedy.

              What are some specific rules, theories, phenomenons you've uncovered over the years?
              I don't think you should be "attempting" comedy.

              If you aren't a natural born full blooded comedy writer and KNOW IT, then don't bother.

              The rules are there ain't no rules. And this ain't Thunderoad.
              "Entertaining the world is a full time, up at dawn, never ending siege, the likes of which you will never fully understand."
              Billy Thrilly 2005

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: To Any Comedy Writers in Here...or those

                Not so, Billy.

                Comedy's a learned art. I know from experience.

                It's just, I already forgot it all.
                "I want to do a romance inside of you." - Borat

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: To Any Comedy Writers in Here...or those

                  Disagree.

                  But that's alright.

                  If you can't play baseball, yes, you can get some coaching and you might be able to get an opposite field broken bat hit every now and then. And you might learn how to get the ball to the first baseman on a hop, but you're not a baseball player.

                  If you have to ask how to write comedy, I think you're gonna have problems. I doubt Woody Allen, Larry David, The Farrelly's, whoever,... were unsure. They just knew they could do it. They probably made mistakes and got better, but it was natural.

                  BUT THAT'S JUST MY OPINION
                  "Entertaining the world is a full time, up at dawn, never ending siege, the likes of which you will never fully understand."
                  Billy Thrilly 2005

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: To Any Comedy Writers in Here...or those

                    you're wrong billy, but that's not an anomaly i'm certain.

                    vig

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: To Any Comedy Writers in Here...or those

                      I think Ire hit it on the nose.

                      You don't necessarily have to be funny to write film comedy, but you have to think funny, think very funny.

                      I'm in the middle of writing a comedy script, my first, so that no way makes me an expert on it. But I think the main problem people have writing comedy is that they try to hard. Some of the most simpliest things can be funny. In the worst try at a comedy script I ever read, every time the writer thought he was being funny, he made the characters laugh about it. This was a real turn off. I find that it hits the audience harder when the characters are oblivious to the humor.

                      Steph
                      "Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." --T.S. Eliot

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: To Any Comedy Writers in Here...or those

                        I am a believer that writers and comedians are born, not made, but that's easy for me to say because I'm funny.

                        The hardest thing you have to do is learn how to take out a hysterical line of dialogue if it doesn't serve the plot.

                        Plot, plot, plot. Dialogue is incidental.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: To Any Comedy Writers in Here...or those

                          One word..."plastics."

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: To Any Comedy Writers in Here...or those

                            Situational comedy is easier for me to write than one liners, then again a good funny moment usually lends itself to a good one liner at the end. It just takes three weeks to find it.

                            Running gags have to be handled just right and have a killer moment/line at the end or they cause people to gag.

                            Great jokes are the ones you never saw coming.
                            It's kind of fun to do the impossible - Walt Disney

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: To Any Comedy Writers in Here...or those

                              Originally posted by kintnerboy
                              I am a believer that writers and comedians are born, not made, but that's easy for me to say because I'm funny.
                              Exactly.

                              If you can't write comedy, you can't write comedy. If you can write comedy, then yeah, I guess there might be a thing or two you can learn to get better, but not much. Not much, people.

                              Thank you!
                              Vote Thrilly 2016!
                              "Entertaining the world is a full time, up at dawn, never ending siege, the likes of which you will never fully understand."
                              Billy Thrilly 2005

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X