tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post7137198650900366219..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Who doesn't love a pie in the face?By Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-26511310856256569772012-10-13T08:24:11.678-07:002012-10-13T08:24:11.678-07:00Always hoped you'd bring this up. I've alw...Always hoped you'd bring this up. I've always wondered what prompted the writers on a long-running series to reach for the pies. Star being a jerk that week? Option for an otherwise slow week? Series has finally established its creativity and now can have some fun? As a child of the '70s, I never minded seeing it. But it did seem that a lot of unlikely sitcoms went for the pies around season four.RORnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-28343981418845488652012-06-14T14:49:33.187-07:002012-06-14T14:49:33.187-07:00Question:
Just how are you supposed to shoot a &q...Question:<br /><br />Just how are you supposed to shoot a "spit take," take after take without making a mess? Is this why they are rarely done? Any favorites?<br /><br />As you may have guessed, I am a) not in the business and b) setting up for a favorite "The Odd Couple" tv series "spit take out take" (it starts at the appropriate spot):<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHLr3kmXT04&feature=player_detailpage#t=413s" rel="nofollow">odd couple outtake reel</a><br /><br />I honestly wasn't expecting this in the outtake reel, and the now-coffee-sprayed condition of my keyboard prompted me to ask.Terry Thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17896818330945488742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-40795278041085676622012-06-11T20:20:34.337-07:002012-06-11T20:20:34.337-07:00You know who was one of the great physical comedia...You know who was one of the great physical comedians? Cary Grant. Do yourself a favor and watch "The Awful Truth" again. Grant's pratfalls and double-takes were graceful,elegant, and hilarious.Paul Gottliebhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14062464400324829622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-53239376146160465672012-06-09T11:30:23.886-07:002012-06-09T11:30:23.886-07:00Ken...I happened to see the CHEERS episode "T...Ken...I happened to see the CHEERS episode "The Cranemakers"--was any of this inspired by what happened when Debbie was great with Matt and Annie?<br />At the very least, did she say "Touch my breasts...I'm lactating"?Paul Ducanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-10649674452257265232012-06-09T10:45:27.558-07:002012-06-09T10:45:27.558-07:00Jay C. Flippen - one of my favorites, and I don...Jay C. Flippen - one of my favorites, and I don't think I ever knew his name. Loved the "Dick Van Dyke" clip...but I think Jay C. Flippen has just become my newest "clean" replacement curse word.<br /><br />For example, "when in the Jay C. Flippin am I going to finish Ken's latest book so I can go back and buy the first one?"chris mcdermotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06504467863945843136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-20695972381025993652012-06-09T05:55:12.143-07:002012-06-09T05:55:12.143-07:00I don't think we can sit on Ken's porch an...I don't think we can sit on Ken's porch and talk about physical comedy without remembering a certain 5-minute wordless scene where Niles Crane has trouble ironing a pair of pants.olucyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12047701257768309071noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-78037200409076324182012-06-09T02:59:19.093-07:002012-06-09T02:59:19.093-07:00My question: actual working screenwriters seem ver...My question: actual working screenwriters seem very skeptical about the relevance of film school to screenwriting employment. I gather that a diploma from even the best film school is meaningless when trying to get work. So is it possible to design a course that actually teaches you to write sellable scripts, and what would it look like?Gareth Wilsonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-5957372692287027282012-06-09T02:50:50.259-07:002012-06-09T02:50:50.259-07:00Wendy, I'm currently reading Steve Martin'...Wendy, I'm currently reading Steve Martin's "Born Standing Up", and he came exactly from the background you're talking about. He performed vaudeville style comedy for years and years before he hit the big time.Johnny Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13302545167970532080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-65564266780453327112012-06-09T01:42:06.095-07:002012-06-09T01:42:06.095-07:00ScottUSF: Sometimes you can Google the show name a...ScottUSF: Sometimes you can Google the show name and "finale" to find interviews where producers tell you where the story would have gone. Here's one for Awake: http://insidetv.ew.com/2012/05/26/awake-finale-kyle-killen-burning-questions/<br /><br />I also remember seeing one for Terriers, a fabulous show that should have gone more than one season.Maureennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-50978486454530186332012-06-09T00:21:18.434-07:002012-06-09T00:21:18.434-07:00about physical comedy - it always gets the big lau...about physical comedy - it always gets the big laughs as well. Even when you have a good line, it helps if it is underlined by some bit of action. Like Kelsey Grammar doing one of his poses. In the book on Murphy Brown (a show ultimately not as good as the book about it) there is a bit about one of the actors trying to find a bit of business to make a one-two-three line work. James Burrows was/is a master at that.<br /><br />But physical humor to me is more than just slapstick. It is anything that physicalizes the action. In the pilot for a series I wrote this year the biggest laugh was when a character was hiding under a table, because she wanted some guy not to see her. She wanted to crawl to the kitchen and asked a guy at the table: "Is he looking?" "No, he isn't." She starts crawling, he looks, she stops. "Now he is." Big laugh. Bigger than I would have thought.Ger Apeldoornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03633862833036214748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-59035458394958320242012-06-08T23:31:57.893-07:002012-06-08T23:31:57.893-07:00No one's yet mentioned Harold Lloyd and Roscoe...No one's yet mentioned Harold Lloyd and Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle? Sheesh!cadavranoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-83801712820048413152012-06-08T18:37:57.933-07:002012-06-08T18:37:57.933-07:00Brent, the funny thing about that pie fight is tha...Brent, the funny thing about that pie fight is that Blake Edwards dedicated The Great Race to Laurel and Hardy, and Stan Laurel tried to kill off pie fights. They decided to do a pie fight in one of their silents, "The Battle of the Century," and Laurel said if we HAVE to do it, let's go all-out. They ordered something like 4,000 pies, a day's output of the biggest local pie company, and just went crazy.<br /><br />JBryant, the Laurel reference is also in honor of Dickie, as he used to call Mr. Van Dyke, who, I agree, is the greatest physical comedian in TV history.Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01998867386294693956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-26908351901089018402012-06-08T14:49:05.487-07:002012-06-08T14:49:05.487-07:00I'm going to go with the final episode of Batt...I'm going to go with the final episode of Battlestar Galactica. Or at least what I thought was the final, but then they added another half season. <br /><br />Xena says give me the Final Five, and I'll do such and such. They finally bring her to their ship, and say, OK who are the Cylons you want? She says, they'll come to me, I'm telepathic. <br /><br />Later in the episode, she starts killing hostages, saying she;ll keep doing it until you hand over the Final Five. <br /><br />At this point, someone should have said, but you're the one who won't tell us who they are!Mikenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-53543235249716089012012-06-08T14:46:41.822-07:002012-06-08T14:46:41.822-07:00Joe, read The Odyssey, the ending scene with the C...Joe, read The Odyssey, the ending scene with the Cyclops.<br /><br />What is the point of being a supervillain if you don't get to tell people what you are doing?<br /><br />Anon, so what? Trucks can haul above their weight.Mikenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-86918329685406489632012-06-08T14:04:08.814-07:002012-06-08T14:04:08.814-07:00If you want to see the best pie fight of all time,...If you want to see the best pie fight of all time, watch The Great Race. No contest. Since it has Natalie Wood as one of the stars I'm surprised Ken didn't mention it.Brenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07894271593432818292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-57169912208936490282012-06-08T13:40:01.205-07:002012-06-08T13:40:01.205-07:00Aspiring writers who look down their noses at phys...Aspiring writers who look down their noses at physical comedy might want to check out films like “Bringing Up Baby” which successfully blend both physical comedy and witty dialogue without detracting from either. My all-time favorite physical comedian was Buster Keaton - whose genius not only has me laughing but wide-eyed at times in near disbelief - I mean, it’s remarkable he lived to a ripe old age.<br /><br />Wendy M. Grossman said...<br /><br />"...my grandfather, who toured the world with trained dogs who acted out scenes from plays in *costume*..."<br /><br />Wasn't this the basis for The Barkleys of Broadway?RCPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04251247613686669877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-29591319534754750552012-06-08T12:29:48.164-07:002012-06-08T12:29:48.164-07:00Ken: you forgot the Marx Brothers. Even Groucho, p...Ken: you forgot the Marx Brothers. Even Groucho, primarily known for his spontaneous quips, was great at physical comedy. ISTR that Alan Alda had a fine line in imitating Groucho's walk and way with eyebrows.<br /><br />I think one reason today's actors don't have the same schooling in physical comedy is that - duh - they don't start out in vaudeville any more. The stars who started there - people like Milton Berle, Rose Marie, the Marxes, Maury Amsterdam ("the joke machine") and, tangentially, my grandfather, who toured the world with trained dogs<br />who acted out scenes from plays in *costume* - had to be able to do everything and do it live. Today, actors specialize a lot more, and don't spend grueling years on the road honing their act in front of live audiences. <br /><br />wgWendy M. Grossmanhttp://www.pelicancrossing.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-68416870274352476192012-06-08T12:26:07.935-07:002012-06-08T12:26:07.935-07:00Someone mentioned clowns. I know a lot of people w...Someone mentioned clowns. I know a lot of people who can't stand mimes, but I personally find a mime 10 times funnier, or at least 10 more watchable, than a circus clown. The only circus clown that didn't bore me was Emmett Kelly, and, guess what, he MIMED.Kirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02155991693956178030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-91021147325724593652012-06-08T12:23:21.967-07:002012-06-08T12:23:21.967-07:00I'll add that there is also a whole visual cin...I'll add that there is also a whole visual cinematic comedy language that seems to have been lost. The way a shot is framed can be funny. A properly timed edit can be funny. The last master of this language was probably Blake Edwards.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-24295793869889957642012-06-08T12:19:48.030-07:002012-06-08T12:19:48.030-07:00As long as everyone's dissecting GOLDFINGER, h...As long as everyone's dissecting GOLDFINGER, how about the villian's sinister plan to radiate all the gold in Fort Knox? By 1964 we were only a mere seven years away from going off the gold standard, anyway. So the timetable would've been rushed a little bit, that's all. Also, this was supposed to give China an economic advantage because their gold would still be "good". Well, Mao might have been too busy to notice, seeing as he had a Cultural Revolution to attend to and all. Also, it turns out China is pretty good at currency manipulation without any help from SPECTRE.Kirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02155991693956178030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-33490747452477970652012-06-08T11:00:51.146-07:002012-06-08T11:00:51.146-07:00Another "Icebox Logic" case would be &qu...Another "Icebox Logic" case would be "The Big Sleep". The denouement is so convoluted, Raymond Chandler, the author of the book said HE didn't even know "whodunit"!<br /><br />As for greatest physical comedian on the small screen, I won't rank them, but I would put in a bid for Sid Caesar, physically and verbally.<br /><br />The biggest plot hole for "Goldfinger" is Oddjob. That's a Basque name.Brian Phillipshttp://ultrasonicremote.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-917981859249326802012-06-08T10:32:42.300-07:002012-06-08T10:32:42.300-07:00I, for one, forgive Ken for not mentioning every g...I, for one, forgive Ken for not mentioning every great physical comedian EVER in a brief blog post.<br /><br />Michael: I haven't watched that particular clip yet (and don't recall the episode offhand), but Dick Van Dyke is arguably the greatest physical comedian to grace the small screen. Of others yet unmentioned, I guess John Ritter deserves a shout-out, too.jbryantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-15752833632390668162012-06-08T10:12:42.407-07:002012-06-08T10:12:42.407-07:00Seriously, Ken, you mention physical comedy and yo...Seriously, Ken, you mention physical comedy and you don't mention Harpo Marx?Breadbakernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-24633824261022533272012-06-08T09:42:26.976-07:002012-06-08T09:42:26.976-07:00And I assume the cast likes physical comedy too si...And I assume the cast likes physical comedy too since I've heard the cast of Cheers fave episode was the thanksgiving food fight. Personally I crack up everytime I see the Clavin has psychiatrist shock him episode.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-41986799403967391872012-06-08T09:38:41.025-07:002012-06-08T09:38:41.025-07:00Another couple of problems with physical comedy ar...Another couple of problems with physical comedy are finding the writers and getting a script through the various layers of network authority that exist today.<br /><br />Finding the writers, because like just about any skill in this world you only get to be good by doing lots of it. Keaton and Lupino Lane (check some of his stuff out if you get the chance - not that there's a lot around) grew up in stage families and had physical gags in their blood. Sadly you don't even seem to find that in circus clowns nowadays. <br /><br />And getting it through the network is a problem because physical gags just don't read funny. You need lots of words to spell out what may only take a few seconds on screen, and all it takes is for one of those network bods to not get it and out comes the big blue pencil.<br /><br />I can't see the US network system ever originating something like Mr Bean, because someone like Rowan Atkinson will never get to a position where he can get the degree of control needed.JBnoreply@blogger.com