Rolling Stone on the State of Comedy
Posted on September 16, 2008 at 8:00 am
The cover of the comedy issue of Rolling Stone has David Letterman, Tina Fey, and Chris Rock and the stories inside include raucous recollections of “notes,” the edits and suggestions from studio and network executives. My favorite is Mel Brooks’ description of carefully writing down all the things that had to be taken out of “Blazing Saddles” and then, after the meeting was over, crumpling it up and throwing it away. Top comedians and comedy writers share their favorite funny movies, their biggest breakthroughs, and their biggest flops. Letterman’s interview has some thoughtful and touching comments on Warren Zevon’s last appearance on the show and his relationships with everyone from Madonna to Johnny Carson and the girls from “The Hills.”
Be sure to check out the online extras, including video clips from five comics to watch and nine comedy all-stars have a blast at the photo shoot.
A friend of mine will be passing his copy along to me as soon as he is finished with it. I am very interested in reading the entire issue. Comics are the “canaries in the coal mine” for our culture. Of course, in th elast 87 years they have been growing fat and happy with the wealth of material. One can only imagine what the next 8 will portend?!