In the comedy industry these days, it seems like more and more people are talking about podcasting. In the new book Comedy Under Attack: the Golden Age and the Headwinds (http://comedyunderattack.com), podcasting was portrayed as one of the hot new things in modern comedy and thanks to his WTF podcast Marc Maron was toasted as…
Category: Comedy Legal
This category deals with what happens when comedians get in trouble with the law and get taken to court
EDDIE GRIFFIN: Comedy and Homophobia Collide in Court
Doing stand-up comedy is no easy thing: for starters, it’s hard enough being heckled by someone in the audience because of something the comedian said. And then, things could get even more complicated when someone in the audience chooses instead to throw something at the comedian onstage because of something that the comedian had said….
BEING LIKE LOUIS CK: The Modern Comedian, Fame, Fortune and the Law
Comedy today is at a ‘golden age’ and Louis CK is one of the greatest beneficiaries of this new age in comedy. And Louis doesn’t shy away from acknowledging his good fortune: “The amount I get paid by these promoters is crazy…I could make $100,000 in a night,” he said about two years ago to…
JAY LENO: ‘Woulda Coulda Shoulda’ He Pay for Defamation?
Jay Leno knows a thing or two about the occupational hazards of a comedian’s work. In the provocative new book Comedy Under Attack: The Golden Age and the Headwinds, somebody said that stand-up comedy is “the most fun anyone can have with their clothes on.” At least until somebody else gets offended in which case…
The ‘HOME IMPROVEMENT’ Lawsuit: A Messy Feud over a Billion-Dollar Comedy
Judging by the numbers, the Tim Allen’s 1990s sitcom Home Improvement is a highly successful show which has brought in well over a billion dollars and tons of laughter to boot. But from the look of things, the laughter stopped a rather long time ago for the creators of the show, who claim they have been…
JON FAVREAU’s ‘CHEF’: Rough Times Hit As Comedy Financiers Brawl In Court
Thanks to a nasty backroom fight among its financiers and now a court order, Jon Favreau’s upcoming comedy Chef has hit a rough patch and no one is in a laughing mood anymore. The star-studded comedy which includes such Hollywood heavies as Dustin Hoffman and Iron Man star Robert Downey, Jr. is about a chef,…
THE ‘WEDGIE’ COMEDIAN: Crossing the Line Between Comedy and the Jailhouse
Though he’s still pretty young, aspiring comedian Charles Ross not long ago learned a simple lesson he should have known all along: that comedy is only about jokes as long as everyone understands what is happening as a joke even if they may not like the joke. And of course, as long as any funnyman…
BRITAIN’S FRANKIE BOYLE: The Meaning of ‘Defamation’ Across the Atlantic
Between the way the world thinks of him and the way he doesn’t want anyone to think of him, the whole stuff about reputation seems to loom pretty large in British comedian Frankie Boyle’s world. From all indications, the brash, irreverent comic doesn’t seem to sweat what anyone calls him as long as no one…
ADAM CAROLLA- Juggling Comedy, Business and Friendship in Court
Funnyman Adam Carolla has quite a situation on his hands these days. And he does have some court dates coming up where he’ll be sorting out a few money matters with some old friends. It all comes back to the whole idea that doing business with other folks is never an easy thing and there…
JON LOVITZ: Taking the ‘Business’ of Comedy to the Courthouse
With comedy as big as it is these days there is no better time than now for anyone on the business side of the industry to make a ton of money, especially those who know the industry pretty well or should. Folks like comedian Jon Lovitz. Needless to say, when rough times hit, the gravy…