What I Learned from Jim Carrey
PHOTO: ADRIAN AGUILAR / NOEMI NUÑEZ
CREATIVE ENERGY IS A MAGIC GENIE
In anticipation of his Comedy Knowledge Drop, we asked writer/show runner/producer Brent Forrester to recount some lessons learned from working for over twenty years on some of television's most iconic programs, including The Simpsons, The Office, King of The Hill, Late Night With Conan O' Brien, and more.
Brent Forrester: I once spent two weeks alone in the Ritz Carlton in New York with Jim Carrey, working on the script for “Liar, Liar.” There was no reason for us to be working in New York. We both lived in L.A., but Jim was so powerful at the time, he just called Universal and said “I want to do this rewrite at the Ritz!” and they immediately booked us a penthouse suite in Manhattan. The Mask and Ace Ventura had just come out, and Jim was at the height of his comic powers, but so famous that he found it unpleasant to walk the streets, where he’d mobbed by crazed fans and people asking him for money. He preferred to sit around the Ritz, endlessly brainstorming comedy bits that he could use on Letterman and SNL. It was mostly my job simply to write these bits down, and this put me directly in the path of Jim’s volcanic fire hose of creativity. I have never experienced anything like the sheer volume of his original creative output, and the contact with his energy so adrenalized me that I couldn’t sleep for two days. I remember asking Jim at one point where this creative energy was coming from and he said: “Sometimes it’s okay to just put things out in the universe.” I was puzzled and he went on: “Even if you just stand on the corner going ‘boing, boing,’ eventually people are going to say, ‘let’s go see the boing-boing man.’” It was a mysterious teaching! But what I felt him trying to express was a philosophy of pure creativity, without self-criticism; a faith that simply generating material energetically, without the burden of self-doubt, would inevitably result in useable material. Jim showed me that creative energy can be like a magic Genie. Unselfconsciousness unlocks it. Self-criticism puts it back in
the bottle.
Join us at Dynasty Typewriter on Sunday May 20th where Brent will be sharing more stories and tips from his time behind the frontlines of comedy. Tickets available here.
What I Learned from Greg Daniels (The Office)
PHOTO: ADRIAN AGUILAR
STRIVE FOR A TONE OF NATURALISM
In anticipation of his Comedy Knowledge Drop, we asked writer/show runner/producer Brent Forrester to recount some lessons learned from working for over twenty years on some of television's most iconic programs, including The Simpsons, The Office, King of The Hill, Late Night With Conan O' Brien, and more.
Brent Forrester: Greg created the American “Office,” and co-created “King of the Hill” with Mike Judge. But long before that, we writers together on The Simpsons. Early on, I was
impressed by Greg’s attraction to observational comedy, and “naturalism” even
when writing for animation. I first noticed it in his classic Simpsons episode, “Bart
Sells His Soul” which was based on a funny true story Greg told about some friends
from college. On “King of the Hill” he took these observational instincts even farther.
Greg gave “reporters pads” to all the writers, slim notebooks that we could carry in a
back pocket, for making notes about of things we observed. This love of
observational, naturalistic comedy peaked at “The Office,” where Greg set a new
standard for realism in American network TV. One way he achieved this was by
occasionally inserting deliberately un-comedic footage, like a Xerox machine slowly
churning out copies, as a way of undercutting the artificial “comic” tone. The
“mockmentary” form was helpful to Greg in creating the naturalistic tone he loved.
The documentary says “real life” and helps re-enforce that realistic tone.
Join us at Dynasty Typewriter on Sunday May 20th where Brent will be sharing more stories and tips from his time behind the frontlines of comedy. Tickets available here.
What I Learned from Bryan Cranston
PHOTO: ADRIAN AGUILAR / JAY GOODWIN
LEAD THROUGH POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT
In anticipation of his Comedy Knowledge Drop, we asked writer/show runner/producer Brent Forrester to recount some lessons learned from working for over twenty years on some of television's most iconic programs, including The Simpsons, The Office, King of The Hill, Late Night With Conan O' Brien, and more.
Brent Forrester: In addition to being a great actor, Brian Cranston is an excellent director. I watched him shoot an episode of The Office I wrote (“Work Bus”) and I was blown away by his technique with the actors. He seemed only to compliment them, yet was able to redirect their performance at will. When I commented on his magic touch he shared a secret with me: “Sometimes I compliment an actor on something they haven’t done yet.” When I asked him to elaborate he said: “Like if I want John Krasinski to be thinking about his dead uncle in this next take, I say, John, I love how you were thinking about your dead uncle in that last take. Do that again!” I said, “Doesn’t he know you’re bullshitting him?” He said, “Yup. But as an actor, it feels so good to get direction that way!”
Join us at Dynasty Typewriter on Sunday May 20th where Brent will be sharing more stories and tips from his time behind the frontlines of comedy. Tickets available here.
What I Learned from The Simpsons
PHOTO: ADRIAN AGUILAR
SUPPORTIVE ROOMS GENERATE MORE JOKES
In anticipation of his Comedy Knowledge Drop, we asked writer/show runner/producer Brent Forrester to recount some lessons learned from working for over twenty years on some of the most Iconic television of past three decades, including The Simpsons
Brent Forrester: When I joined The Simpsons in Season Five, it was one of the most intimidating
writers rooms ever assembled. The staff was all hotshots from the Harvard Lampoon, and their standard of quality was so high, it was suffocating. People were simply afraid to pitch jokes in that room, for fear of looking stupid in front of each other, and our punch up sessions were famous for long silent stretches, where no one dared to speak. At first I did not have the courage to pitch jokes in that room. But I did have the courage to laugh! Even that can be a risk – no one wants to be the only one laughing – but it was one that paid off instantly. I discovered that even
“legendary” comedy writers are often deeply insecure, and they appreciate the support of a generous chuckler. When I did dare to start pitching lines for Bart and Homer, these same writers were a lot more patient with me. As a result of my early years in a “tough” room like the Simpsons, I tend to run very “warm” rooms now. A lot of comedy is trial and error. And you get a lot more “trial” in a room where the Head Writer is a generous chuckler.
Join us at Dynasty Typewriter on Sunday May 20th where Brent will be sharing more stories and tips from his time behind the frontlines of comedy. Tickets available here.
What I Learned from Judd Apatow
PHOTO: ADRIAN AGUILAR / FRANZ RICHTER
MAKE THE COMEDY THAT YOU WISH EXISTED
In anticipation of his Comedy Knowledge Drop, we asked writer/show runner/producer Brent Forrester to recount some lessons learned from working for over twenty years on some of television's most iconic programs, including The Simpsons, The Office, King of The Hill, Late Night With Conan O' Brien, and more.
Brent Forrester: Judd first hired me as a writer when I was 26. He was only 25 and had co-created a sketch show called “The Ben Stiller Show” with Ben, an unknown 27 year old actor. Why had Fox given them a show. In part it was Judd’s passion. “There is no sketch in prime time!” he said. “This show needs to exist!” In the 20 years since, I have heard Judd shout sentiment many times. He created Freaks and Geeks because there was no realistic comedy about nerds. He produced Bridesmaids because there were no big screen comedies with an all-female cast. Most recently he did “The Big Sick” because there were no mainstream rom-coms with an openly Muslim star. When Judd thinks about what project to work on next, he always asks himself this same question: “What am I not seeing out there, that I wish existed?” When he finds an answer, the passion comes instantly. That passion is infectious, and has been for 20 years.
Join us at Dynasty Typewriter on Sunday May 20th where Brent will be sharing more stories and tips from his time behind the frontlines of comedy. Tickets available here.
