The New Yorker’s Post

https://lnkd.in/dqqz36wu Extracts Eddie Murphy has been so famous for so long, occupying such a lofty place in the cultural landscape, that it can be easy to overlook just how game-changing a figure he actually is. Let’s start, as Murphy’s career did, with standup. There had been star comics before — Steve Martin, Richard Pryor — but none exploded with anything like Murphy’s speed or intensity. Swaggering, magnetic and able to bounce between sweet personal storytelling and controversial, defiantly un-P.C. material, he was, and forgive me for mixing disciplines, a rock star. “Eddie Murphy: Raw,” released in 1987 when he was only 26, is the highest-grossing standup-comedy film ever — still. The scale of his success, and the fact he achieved it without dulling his edge, redefined what a comedian could do, paving the way for the likes of Kevin Hart and Chris Rock. He also, of course, cast his spell on TV. When Murphy arrived at “Saturday Night Live” in 1980, the show was thought to be on the verge of cancellation. Through sheer force of charisma as well as instantly iconic, hilariously unpredictable recurring characters like his crotchety Gumby and the Mr. Rogers parody Mr. Robinson, Murphy brought the show back to life. A highly plausible argument can be made that without him, television’s most reliable comedy-star-making machine might not have made it to a 10th anniversary, let alone be nearing its 50th. But Murphy made his greatest mark in movies, where he reached new heights, for comedians and Black performers, of popularity and bankability. He helped pioneer the action-comedy genre with his quippy, improvisational-feeling performances in movies like “Beverly Hills Cop” and “48 Hrs.” And then in the mid-1990s, after a bit of a career dip, he transitioned to family-friendly films like “Shrek” and “The Nutty Professor” (one of multiple comedies in which Murphy virtuosically played wildly different characters), and continued to score giant hits. All of which is to say that American pop culture looked different after Eddie Murphy came along. Now he’s returning to the character that sent his career into the stratosphere with “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F,” which comes to Netflix on July 3. It arrives 40 years after the first film in the series, in which Murphy stars as the wisecracking detective Axel Foley. He is clearly comfortable with the role — and with himself. Do you understand what you mean to comedians like Kevin Hart and Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock and Chris Tucker? Well, I didn’t lay down a path. They took their own path. The comic used to be the sidekick, the comic was the opening act, and I changed it to where the comic can be the main attraction. They thought of comics one way, and it was like, no, a comic could sell out the arena, and a comic could be in hundred-million-dollar movies. All of that changed.

#CanusaStreet has some STRONG reviews on The Black List right now, including multiple 8/10's. Check out what some industry script readers are saying, and then give this crazy comedy pilot a read yourself! https://lnkd.in/eBNdzTtV "Off the bat, the dialogue in CANUSA STREET is good enough for professionally produced television (better than a lot of it). The premise of the show also shines. It takes a ridiculous place that exists in the real world and explores it with what feels like the perfect premise extrapolated from that setting. There's no shortage of jokes throughout, many of which are laugh out loud funny, though all of which are timed extremely well."  ~The Black List 8/10 Review "This could easily be curtailed to work on a broadcast network like NBC, but it would also work on a top-tier streamer or premium cable network. It's broad and fairly inoffensive while also being hysterically funny and, at times, subversive. The dialogue shows the comedy chops of this writer, and the premise is solid enough to get serious attention in development." ~The Black List 8/10 Review "CANUSA STREET's strongest element is its incredible and unlikely true location; it's likely that many people in the US and Canada have no idea that a town like Beebe Plain exists, much less what it would actually be like to live there. The relationship between Holly and Harley is well-developed and unique; it's exciting to think about the comedic and dramatic possibilities of their dynamic as it continues to get fleshed out. It's one of the most compelling aspects of the project..." ~The Black List "CANUSA STREET has serious series potential; the stranger than fiction element of its location makes it compelling, and there's a terrific opportunity to offer a fresh take on small town comedy and drama. Think SCHITT'S CREEK, but with a line drawn in the sand, where friends, famillies, and neighbors are divided along political and physical lines." ~The Black List

Comedy @ CLOC: I am teaming up with John Burke and Laura Spalding for a session at #CGI2024 but fair warning – we’re going for comedy here. Informative nuggets and insights are almost secondary. This will be funny first. At least the start will be. I can’t promise much more than that. Although, of course, like every session, it’ll have loads of #ActionableInsights that are probably pretty insightful. And don’t forget the thought leaders. A few of those too. And [insert more jargon-y stuff here]. So in summary, funny, thoughtful Thought Leaders with smart things to say filled with insightful insights. It’s gonna be great! So don’t come if you don’t have a good sense of humor. But no really, I’m kind of serious about that. To prove it, put your best lawyer joke in the comments. Alex Bullington from PERSUIT® is producing something for this session and I’ve heard whispers in the halls, they’re saying Alex Bu is the next Alex Su. Could get interesting. Oh, the topic? Outtakes From #OutsideCounselManagement: Go Behind the Scenes With UBS’s John Burke Tue, 7-May, 1p, Pinyon Ballroom 1 https://lnkd.in/ebsWYX5d Hope to see you there. Please tip your waitstaff BTW - [seinfeld voice] what’s the deal with me being the short one in the marketing image. Not sure how I feel about that.

Tonite, I’ve got a date with Wanda… Whenever I’m in the car, which is a fair bit, I ALWAYS listen to one of the comedy channels on Sirius Satellite. Never the news. I found myself yelling at the radio because of some crazy story (not a good look to passing motorists) or falling asleep to talk *yawn* radio 😴 So, I turned to comedy and I’ve never looked back. It’s awesome - I laugh OUT LOUD, like for real, LOL!! 🤣🤣🤣 It puts me in a good mood, no matter what can of day I’ve had. I. Love. It. 😁 It's my therapy. But can you imagine getting up in front of all those people and telling jokes?! No thanks - I'll stick to being a business owner, way easier! 😉 Which brings me to my date with Wanda… Wanda Sykes, the comedian - she’s one of my favourites and she’s here tonite in Vancouver! I’ve never seen here in person, can’t wait 😅 And speaking of faves, here's a few more - Nate Bargatze, Mike Birbiglia, John Mulaney, Bill Burr, Jim Jefferies, Hannah Gadsby, and Patton Oswalt to name just a few. What about YOU? Got a favourite comedian?? Share in the comments 👇 #smallbusinessowner #smallbusinessmarketing #smallbusinessadvice

“There’s no writer’s block. There’s lazy. There’s scared. But there’s no writer’s block. Just sit down and realize: you’re mediocre and you’re gonna have to put a lot of effort into this to make it good. That’s what writing is.” I resonated with this! The best writers are meticulous problem solvers. They understand The Grind. Figuring out (a) what it is and (b) how it all fits together *is* the job.

Just listening to some gems from comedian Jimmy Carr. He appears on my humour map and typifies the quadrant of DANGER and EDGE, known for his belligerent style and nasty put downs. But on Steven Bartlett's "The Diary of a CEO" he shows a new side to him. I was particularly struck where he says from about 04:55 on: "I'll figure out how to do it, I'll figure out what the code is, and I think often it is that thing of like, the thing that comedians do incredibly well, like the super power of comedians, what comedians do brilliantly, is they're great at pattern recognition and that strikes me as the most important thing in life for humans...Cracking the code on stuff..." At the superficial level, semioticians and comedians have something quite obvious in common. Both are outsider figures who work at the margins of culture and are often seen as eccentric provocateurs. One classic semiotics practitioner I seem to remember in a paper once said that his clients used regard him and treat him somewhere between Moses and an idiot savant. Malcolm Evans deconstructed the idea of the 'fool' in Shakespeare as a sort of carnivalesque sage / prophet. Semioticians study humour too. Canadian Paul Bouissac has written extensively on clowning and the circus, a highly semiotic entity. But if we look closer we can see more parallels. Both of them are disciplines that rely on: 1. Rich observational detail  2. Surprising connections 3. Revealing cultural norms 4. Insights and epiphanies 5. Subverting the status quo I guess the good news from my perspective is that long terms information age trends are on our side. Given that the easy to replicate rote tasks are the ones which will be devastated first by the coming AI revolution and the higher order thinking skills and pattern recognition will be the last to go. https://lnkd.in/guHp-Diq Now as semioticians we could all try to be a bit more entertaining too - even if we tell insights, not jokes! Learn more about how to figure out the code which incorporates a sense of humour on How To Do Semiotics in Seven Weeks. We start on Thursday 25th April. Do contact Pavla Hind for more information on pavla@creativesemiotics.co.uk #semiotics #comedy #provocative #codes #pattern #recognition PS I also loved his insights about changing people's states as a comedian!

AHN’s Original Series, Legends: Steven He is a Chinese-Irish actor, comedian, and social media star. Moving from China to Ireland, and then the US, he gained fame in the 2020s for his satirical comedy sketches on YouTube and TikTok. Steven humorously portrays Asian parenting stereotypes and popularized the term "emotional damage." Drop a comment below and let us know who should be our next highlight!

Renowned for his role as #ChandlerBing in the beloved television series #Friends, #MatthewPerry has passed away at the age of 54. In 2022, Perry had written a book called 'Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing' . Read his famous #quotes from the book here

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." Sounds pretty ordinary, right? Yet that classic line from Charles Dickens has been quoted more than you know. What if a more contemporary voice had first delivered this classic line, say Jon Stewart? Maybe how we'd read A Tale of Two Cities, as well as talk about our current business and world issues, would be different. Jon might say it something like this: "Ladies and gentlemen, let me tell ya, we're talkin' about a time that was, I mean, seriously, the bee's knees, like everything was rainbows and ice cream trucks, you catch my drift? "But then, hold onto your hats, because out of nowhere, kaboom! We're talking about a time that was like a bad stand-up comedy show in a rundown basement bar, where even the rats are heckling ya. It was the best, and yet somehow, also the absolute worst of times, my friends." Sounds a bit different doesn't it? Interesting how the same message can be illustrated in different ways. How would you write it if you were going to make a starting statement about the state of affairs for people? Btw: that opening line from Two Cities doesn't sound all that different than right now in 2023, does it? #storytellingforbusiness #changeyourperspective #wednesdaywisdom #wednesdaythoughts

Tooting my own horn a bit here... I had the absolute pleasure of getting to know, and working with veteran comedian and comedy coach Mike Lukas. Mike has appeared on the Tonight Show, Comedy Central, Second City, and CBS Radio. Here's what he said about working with me: "I hired Angela Archer to rewrite my Amazon book description and she ended up doing way more than just that. First, she dug (digged? dag?) deep into my comedy being by reading my humor writing book, its description, my articles, my marketing copy, then by asking me key questions that got me to refocus on my “why.” Thanks to Angela, I’ve better pinpointed my audience and have since “planted my flag.” Now my book description – the one she so brilliantly re-wrote – clearly reflects that. Great working with you, Angela, thanks for lending me your talented brain." *Blushes* Look it. Writing a book is one thing... Turning it into an evergreen marketing machine, one that easily and effectively attracts your ideal customers is a different ball game. If you've got a book, or you're writing a book, and you want help putting it to work, I'll happily lend you my talented brain. Pop a message in my DMs. *** p.s. if you're wondering how well I can play the sax, I'm currently sitting somewhere between a honking goose and a cat coughing up a fur ball.