| The Apiary Network |  |
 |
 |
||
 | |||||
March 5, 2007
The Aspen Report: Comedians Tell All as They Shred Their Way Down From the Slopes
The convoy of comics to the Aspen U.S. Comedy Arts Festival have finally returned and they brought back some stories to share.
The Apiary talked to Dave Hill, who was nearly annointed ALL 10 SLOTS in Variety's recent Top 10 Comics to Watch list:
What did you do there when you weren't performing?
The Kiehl's company gave everybody big bags of lotions and soaps. I lost hours each day with that stuff. I looked and smelled incredible all week. Also, I was doing on-camera work every day for HBO, interviewing other performers and whatnot, which was really fun. I got to interview Stephen Colbert, which was a thrill. I was nervous. He, of course, was super nice and hilarious. Other than that, I mostly ate and drank stuff. I ate at a German place called Weinterstube three times. They have these buxom European waitresses there that I want nothing more in life than to take orders from. I went to some fun parties- the Best Week Ever party, the UCB house party (which was not unlike the actual movie "House Party," only with more dudes), and TWO parties that Jeremy Piven was at! The last night of the festival, the brother of the pro wrestler Goldberg had a huge party at his ridiculous compound up in the mountains. The guy had two naked pictures of Demi Moore hanging in his basement. I can't even wrap my head around it.
Did you land a sitcom deal?
I'm honestly not sure what I am going to do with all the money that was handed to me under the shadow of towering fir trees in Aspen. I can't get into it too much right now, but let me just say that the guys on "Two And A Half Men" are about to get a really wacky next door neighbor. The spinoff series, "Colostomy Hank," is slated for fall of 2016.
We asked Sara Schaefer--who was said to spend most of her time between performances drinking "Mist-erical" cocktails in the Sierra Mist VIP lounge--to reveal which performers had her buzzing uncontrollably. She responded, "TIMOTHY MINCHIN. Oh my god. I love this man. Pure genius. MICHAEL SHOWALTER. His standup show was really great. JOHN OLIVER. An adorable accent. His bit w/power ballads behind George Bush and Osama Bin Laden speeches was inspired. DAVE HILL. Kicked some serious ass w/a foam machine, and got fresh with Judith Light. OLDE ENGLISH. Did a hilarious sketch at the Fat City show with items from their condo. JONATHAN COULTON. Geek folk at its finest. And the very large stand up whose name I can't remember but his 5 minute joke about ordering a sandwich at Subway was TRANSCENDENT."
The same question was posed to Dave Segal of the sketch group Olde English who added: "So many. A shortlist has to include TJ Miller, Shane Mauss, Tim Minchin, Dan Mintz, Joey and David, Eric Andre, and, of course, John Mulaney. Mulaney's set was so awesome I ended up in a three way argument with TJ Miller and his girlfriend, Lauren, over which of his jokes was the best. It's the summer blockbuster joke for the record."
Segal also weighed in on Aspen's hot cocoa: "The only time I had any was at the top of Aspen Mountain where the guys and I somehow ended up doing the weather on Plum TV. On the top of a mountain, anything warm is delicious."
TJ Miller, a probable front-runner for Best Stand Up at the fest, who has since jetted over to LA to work on a shoot, took a moment to share what he did with the remainder of his downtime: "I tried to ski, but my girlfriend was hysterically crying and afraid of the slopes (the two might not have been related), so that didn't work out. I had a lot of fun hanging out with people in mansions and once I passed out in the Sierra Mist V.V.I.P. lounge with my gold grills on."
More Aspen Details
Olde English's Blog
High Altitude Comedy @ Metro
Aspen. Am I Right or Am I Right?
Affixed after the crump is the official recap press release from the fest-people
HBO and U.S. Comedy Arts Festival Announce the 2007 Jury Award Winners for Live Performances and Film Program
ASPEN, CO March 3, 2007--HBO and the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival (USCAF) announced the 2007 Jury Award winners for Live Performances presented by HBO Comedy and the Film Program, sponsored by Variety in a ceremony hosted by comedian and USCAF performer Jamie Kennedy. Presenting this year's awards were Mary Lynn Rajskub, Billy Baldwin, Judith Light, Dave Hill, and last year’s Breakout Award winner Eliza Coupe.
The winners for Live Performances at this year's Festival are:
Best Stand-up - Kirk Fox & Shane Mauss
Breakout Award Male - John Oliver
Breakout Award Female - TastiSkank (Sarah Litzsinger and Kate Reinders)
Best Alternative - Tim Minchin
Best Sketch - Summer of Tears
Best One Person Show - Nilaja Sun for "No Child..."
Tied for Best Stand-up were Kirk Fox and Shane Mauss, voted by a jury of over three-dozen industry executives who judged over 20 standup performances. Fox, a former tennis pro launched his stand-up career in 2002 at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles. Mauss was a finalist in the Boston Comedy Festival and was also recently selected "Comic of the Month" at The Comedy Studio in Boston.
For the first time in Festival history the Breakout Award was awarded to a both a male and female performer. John Oliver is an established comic and writer in his native U.K and is best known to American audiences as a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. TastiSkank is Sarah Litzsinger and Kate Reinders, accomplished Broadway actresses who perform a sexy and comedic musical act.
Tim Minchin, who has performed his blend of comedy and music around the world, adds the USCAF Best Alternative award to his 2005 Perrier Comedy Award for Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, as well as his Most Outstanding Show and Festival Director’s Award at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Best Sketch award winner Summer of Tears is comprised of Will Greenberg, Todd Waldman and Rob Kerkovich and features Kirstin Eggers with videos directed by Jamieson Fry. The troupe, all alumni from the University of Southern California, have been performing around the Los Angeles area for years and have opened for acts such as Dave Chappelle and Norm MacDonald. "No Child..." is Nilaja Sun's critically acclaimed one-woman show that explores the New York City public school system and is currently running Off-Broadway at the Barrow Street Theatre in New York.
The 2007 Film Program featured 30 feature films, 20 shorts and four world premieres. A panel of filmmakers, producers and industry executives determined that the following films, directors and actors were most deserving of this year's honors.
The Film Program's Award Winners include:
Best Feature - Ira & Abby
Best Director - Tom DeCillo, Delirious
Best Screenplay - Taika Waititi, Eagle vs. Shark
Best Actor - Jay Baruchel, I’m Reed Fish
Best Actress - Jennifer Westfeldt, Ira & Abby
Comedy Performance in Film - Wendy McLendon-Covey, Closing Escrow and Cook-Off!
Best Documentary - King of Kong
Best Short - My Wife is Retarded, director Etan Cohen
Best College Short - High Maintenance, Director Phillip Van
Best Foreign Language - Ice Cream, I Scream
Best Performance in a Foreign Film - Micha Hulshof, Schnitzel Paradise
Cinemax Audience Award Winner - Death at a Funeral
The USCAF is sponsored by: HBO, HBO Comedy, TBS, Kellogg’'s, Ziddio, NetJets, Sierra Mist, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Aspen Magazine, Cinemax, Kodak, Roots, Stay Aspen Snowmass, Burton and Nokia.
About The USCAF
Since its inception in 1995, the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen has become known as a primary launching pad for comedic talent and for hosting one-of-a-kind events such as reunions of Swingers!, Monty Python, SCTV, Sex and the City, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Saturday Night Live, as well as of the casts of The Larry Sanders Show, Cheers, Animal House, Waiting for Guffman and In Living Color; The AFI Star Awards to Goldie Hawn, Jim Carrey, Diane Keaton, Mike Myers, Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David, Steve Martin, Billy Crystal, Albert Brooks, Rob Reiner, Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg; the original The Simpsons Live, and the Freedom of Speech Awards which have honored Russell Simmons and Def Comedy Jam, George Carlin, Bill Maher, Dick Gregory, The Smothers Brothers, Michael Moore, August Wilson and Garry Trudeau.
In the past, strong USCAF performances by Ray Romano, Camryn Manheim, Jack Black, Eddie Izzard, Anthony Clark, Candy Ford, Bob Odenkirk, David Cross, Jason Kravitz, Loni Love and The Hollow Men among others, helped attract or solidify network deals.
The 2006 USCAF featured appearances by Louis CK, Robert Wuhl, Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion, Jim Henson's Puppet Improv and the world premieres of Damon Wayans' "Behind the Smile," Scott Lew’s "Bickford Shmeckler's Cool Ideas," Bruce Leddy’s "Shut Up and Sing," and Leslie Greif's "Funny Money" feature films.
Posted by The Apiary at March 5, 2007 12:58 PM
Comments
Oh god. Come back Teeeej! Come back!!!
Posted by: k-rock at March 5, 2007 3:30 PM