Contest: Shelley Duvall’s Faerie Tale Theatre

Posted on September 9, 2008 at 11:01 am

sleeping beautyjpg From 1982-1987 actress Shelly Duvall produced and hosted a series of fairy tales on Showtime, starring some of Hollywood’s top performers. Christopher Reeve and Matthew Broderick played very charming princes, and princesses included Bernadette Peters as Sleeping Beauty, Susan Sarandon as Beauty, and “Flashdance’s” Jennifer Beals as Cinderella. The costumes and sets were low-budget but very creative, inspired in part by the classic fairy tale illustrations of Maxfield Parrish and Howard Pyle.
The series has just been re-released on DVD and I have FOUR copies to give away! This is such a special prize I want to make sure everyone has a chance to participate. So post a comment, telling me which is your family’s favorite fairy tale and why. The most imaginative and creative responses submitted by the end of the day Sept 30 will win the box set of the complete Faerie Tale Theatre series. U.S. addresses only, please. I look forward to hearing from you!
Legal stuff and full details:

(more…)

Apostles of Comedy

Posted on September 8, 2008 at 10:00 am

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	All Ages
MPAA Rating:	NR
Profanity:	None
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	References to illness and sad death
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters
Date Released to DVD:	September 9, 2008
Amazon.com ASIN:	B001957A12

Four Christian stand-up comics join forces in this performance film that combines hilarious commentary on all of the absurdities of life with very touching glimpses of the men at home and their fellowship with each other. Anthony Griffith, Brad Stine, Jeff Allen, and Ron Pearson are talented performers who believe that their comedy can be a kind of testimony, bringing people to a place where they are more receptive to God. This is a heart-warming, hilarious, and inspiring film. Be sure to check out my interview with Ron Pearson about what makes him laugh and how he finds a way to be both reverent and irreverent.

A live tour featuring the four stars of “Apostles of Comedy” will begin on November 10 in Northern California and make stops in over 15 cities before Thanksgiving. Venues for the tour will include large churches as well as theaters and auditoriums. Stops will include Phoenix, Tulsa’s Maybee Center, Dallas’ Nokia Theatre, Houston, Orlando, Chattanooga and Knoxville, TN.

Interview: Ron Pearson of ‘Apostles of Comedy’

Posted on September 8, 2008 at 8:00 am

Ron Pearson of the new DVD Apostles of Comedy answered some of my questions about his tour. Pearson starred for several years on “Malcolm & Eddie,” guest starred on “The Drew Carey Show,” “Two Guys and a Girl,” “The George Lopez Show,” and appeared in a recurring on “That 70s Show.” As a comedian Ron has made numerous late night appearances from “The Late Late Show,” to “The Dennis Miller Show,” and “Comedy Central.” The DVD has Pearson and three other top Christian comics at home and in performance.
What is the most important thing for a comedian to know about his or her audience?
There is a phrase in comedy that says, “Know your audience!” That in itself is the second most important thing in comedy. Everyone laughs at a joke that is based on a truth, but not everyone’s experiences are the same. Talking to a group of teens it wouldn’t be that funny to them talking about the problems of a large mortgage. Or the same talking to a bunch of Amish about troubles with the computer!
If you understand who you are talking to, you can find the common ground and break down the barriers! It’s all about knowing the audience.

What inspires you?
What a broad question–What inspires you? So many things. A great movie makes me want to do better work. Seeing a great play, and a song by Baz Luhrmann, the film director, called ‘Everyone is Free to Wear Sunscreen” inspired me to write a one man comedy show. Some parts of it are actually in the Apostles of Comedy film. However, the biggest inspiration for me is an empty bank account!

What makes you laugh?
Everyday life! Life’s a lot easier if you can laugh at it! My wife, kids and myself are constantly doing and saying funny things. It’s my job to capture that and put it in a looking glass of words for others to relate too. For example, my family was going to a lacrosse game recently and we were right on the edge of being late and the emergency brake cable in the truck snapped off.
I wanted to get to the game so bad, I was frustrated, wasn’t sure who
to call, so I yelled to my wife in frustration to “call General Motors.” My wife said, ”Really, General motors has someone standing by on a Sunday night to fix your
emergency brake!”
Now every so often one of the kids will just yell, “Call General Motors!” Much to my chagrin, it’s been hours of laughter for my family! But, That’s life and life is funny!
I laugh at just about everything! Have you ever noticed that even at a funeral, you get some of the
biggest and deepest laughs? Also, great jokes and great comedians make me laugh!
You know how I make God laugh? I tell him my plans.
My Godson, Beckett makes me laugh. He’s almost 3 years old and just listening to him talk cracks me up!
Can you be reverent and irreverent at the same time?
Another great question! Life is full of oxymorons, I’m just a moron! Yes, I think you can in a weird way be reverent and irreverent at the same time. The reason is, comedy is based on truth and sometimes the truth is ugly. So often, making a joke about a topic that people don’t want to talk about, or won’t acknowledge because of some predisposition, is the best way for people to relate to something difficult for them. The fact that you base it on truth is the important part. That keeps it reverent because God is truth.
Do you have a favorite Bible passage about the importance of laughter?
The funniest thing in the Bible to me is the story of Noah! Here’s a guy who preached for 100 years and didn’t have a single convert! He could barely get his own family on the ark! I can relate to this guy! The frustrated dad. The passage that also hits home is James 4:9 Let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to gloom! JUST KIDDING. Actually it’s Proverbs 17:22–A cheerful heart makes good medicine.
Laughter is therapeutic!
What’s the best advice you ever got?
The best advice I ever got was to treat a woman with respect. Oh, you mean about comedy. The best advice was from the actor Peter Scolari. When I first came to Los Angeles, I considered him to be my mentor. He told me that you can make an audience laugh and laugh, but if you show them your heart they will never forget you. This is all about being vulnerable onstage. It’s a very hard thing to do but it is the same thing we can do as Christians. When you allow yourself to be vulnerable to others, it draws them in.
Is stand-up a kind of testimony or preaching? How?
I don’t know if I’d call comedy preaching. I’ve not changed the world or cured cancer from the stage, but comedy is based on truth. Preaching is based on the Bible and that is truth, God is truth. So maybe in a weird way through stand up, some people might look at the world a little differently! I guess that’s my hope. I want my audience to be uplifted. So much of comedy is very dark, but I want the audience to be floating on cloud 9 when they leave. The truth of God’s
word takes the weight of the world off your shoulders. What I try to do is take that same weight off and maybe, just maybe my, life could be a testimony to someone in need!

Jim Henson’s ‘Unstable Fables: Tortoise Vs. Hare’

Posted on September 7, 2008 at 10:34 pm

Set 15 years after the classic Aesop fable about race between the over-confident Hare and the slow-but-steady tortoise, this updated version from The Jim Henson Company out on DVD this week has the two creatures planning a rematch, this time with their children. Voice talents include Danny Glover and Jay Leno and it’s told with spirit and style and there are some nice lessons about things that matter more than winning races, like friendship and trust.

Online Audio and Video Resources

Posted on August 31, 2008 at 8:00 am

With not much new in theaters this week and next week, it’s a good time to investigate some of the great online resources for entertainment. I was delighted to find out that there is still a way to see Joss Whedon’s “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.” When Whedon made it available free for one weekend only so many people tried to get access that there was a server meltdown. You can buy it now on iTunes or DVD. Or, you can watch it (with brief commercial interruptions) on Hulu. Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog is a three-act musical about a would be super-villain played by Neil Patrick Harris. I love the laundromat song! And Hulu also has a wonderful collection of classic and new episodes of TV series and movies like “Sleepless in Seattle” and “Groundhog Day.” It’s my go-to site when I have the flu.

I’d also like to recommend Odeo, a wonderful collection of the best audio and video from throughout the web. I am a huge fan of the series of podcasts from The Moth, where writers and performers tell stories about their lives that must be both true and without notes. I was enormously moved by the latest in the series, Ed Gavagan’s “Drowning on Sullivan Street.” Odeo makes it easy to subscribe so that you won’t miss any of your favorites. The Moth is also available on iTunes at no charge. Here is Gavagan’s story: