Big issue of the OCW for me today…
First, Joe Rogan.
“I think in a lot of ways, as a stand-up comedian, it still sends a very weird and confusing message,” Rogan says over the phone. “It’s like: Stand-Up Comedian-slash-Cage-Fighting Expert? Like, how does that work? You know, it’s a weird gig. It also definitely makes me far more aware of the contradictions and how important it is to be self-deprecating about it, and to poke fun at myself and how silly it is.”
Second, Justin Lin
Born in Taiwan, but raised in Buena Park from the age of 8, Lin would often come to Hof’s as a special treat after a day of boogie boarding at Huntington Beach. A few things have changed since then. “We were the only Asian-American family. It’s crazy—now I go back there and the skating rink is now the Korean church, it’s like this influx of Asian-Americans. My mom, I remember around ’81, she found an Asian market, and she was so excited. It was two little markets on Bolsa, and now it’s Little Saigon. Just seeing the explosion through the years is unbelievable.”
Finally, Indiefest
Now, jaded cinephiles are probably thinking that Disney + Independent = Miramax, or something like that. Not so. These aren’t corporate indies, nor are they likely to come to your local art house any time soon. Based on the small selection available for preview, these are movies people put together for next to nothing, often shot on video (and not that fancy-pants 24P kind, either), ragged around the edges and featuring obvious actor-types wearing too much makeup and conspicuously generic costumes. But if you can roll with that, there’s some fun to be had.
Many thanks to G for the support and backup over the last two weeks.
Joe Rogan was great on newsradio, and is really good on UFC. His earlier standup was a lot funnier that the last set of his I saw, but hopefully he’s written some new stuff since then.
Carlos Mencia continues to be the Dane Cook of comedy.
The Dane Cook of comedy? So what’s Dane Cook?
I have to admit I’d take Cook over Mencia any day, if I had to. The only thing I’ll say for Ned “Carlos Mencia” Holness is that I didn’t think it was possible to come up with a dumber comedy catchphrase than Larry the Cable Guy’s “Git-R-Done”…but “DUH-duh-duh!” takes it.
Cook at least steals jokes from Louis CK. More on that in my interview with Louis next week.
Dane Cook is the Carlos Mencia of acting.
Crap. I just checked and Louis canceled his nov 15th Boston show. And I’m too busy to drive 2 hours to North Hampton for his show tomorrow.
I saw Patton Oswalt last night. He said that Larry the Cable guy made $23 million on merchandising alone last year. Now I’d kill for a meaningless, monosyllabic expression to base an entire comedy persona on.