You see, unless I was being offered silly money to whore my integrity (which would never happen with a first timer) I'd just say I'm keeping all of the creative control or it's not getting made. If it doesn't then so be it and I think that's a much easier stance to take when you're the age we are and have other stuff in your life already.Originally Posted by Lofty
Yeah unless you were making it yourself you wouldn't get creative control. I am in a Screenwriting group with pretty successful writers (in terms of it being their sole source of income) and once your script is optioned you have no control, the producer will give you notes for changes in the rewrite and if you object they just bring someone else in to rewrite it and your credit gets split. It is gone to the point if you are ever invited on set you can't give your opinion on anything unless the director asks for it, otherwise you are kicked off.
That said, my mate has got a sitcom in Glasgow greenlit after struggling to get it made, even being slagged off by the head of Channel 4's light entertainment department in the process. But the difference is they are producing it themselves. Similar to the Hairy Bikers (and I assume others) where they pitch the product, then when they get the nod and the money they sell the finished product to the broadcaster.
For me, I think novels are the only way to retain complete control. I am at peace with stuff being changed to make it work/get a finished project out there with my name on it. It's worth reading screenplays of your favourite films for research, and it is interesting to see how much was changed between that and the finished film. Even names, no point getting too attached to the clever name you thought up because it will likely be changed. Casting changes things all the time, I read that in the recently DS recommended Hunter Hunter the kid was written as an 8 year old boy but changed to a 12 year old girl after a strong audition from the actor, and the dialogue changed to match in the script.
Realistically fellas, are you actually good writers? Because people here think I write funny, but I'm not sat here thinking I could write anything beyond dry historical wank.
Not only good, but good enough to demand that my vision is not altered by anyone.
Similarly, Yevrah seems to be not giving stand-up a whirl because writing a Netflix special and going on tour might get in the way of his life. Just find a five minute slot somewhere like everyone else who ever tried it.
Netflix Presents 'Yevlife Crisis', with him on the poster doing that 'Huh?' face that comedians do (scratching his head and/or with an exasperated hand out).
Like people who show up to the gym for the first time ever, but don't want to get too big.
Randrew could send me some of his chocolates though. It's the least he could do after the year we've endured for his benefit.
Well, exactly. One of my pals is very funny (by the standards of one's mates), wrote some genuinely interesting stuff throughout his 20s (a few little youtube projects he started and got bored with etc), and even did the crappy stand-up circuit in Bristol when he was at uni (playing on plenty of bills with Jordan Brookes who actually ended up a good professional stand up), and even he was unable to get anywhere with it.
I'm obviously biased, but I feel like if he wasn't able to get much more than having a few dozen people tell him after comedy shows/seeing his other creative things "you're actually really good!" with his combination of genuine talent and a reasonable amount of effort then what chance have you got?
I actually don't think stand up would be difficult at all. In the nicest way, people are idiots. If they pay money to laugh, or plan an evening around laughing, you'd have to be pretty shit not to make them laugh.
I'm mostly basing this off doing a best man speech where within about ten seconds I realised my previous nerves were for nothing. I get that people are generally in a great mood and more willing to support in that situation (hecklers must be pretty rare) but I feel the same logic applies. When people want to laugh, they laugh.
I also had a mate who tried some amateur stand up at uni and I went to all his gigs so met a fair amount of other amateur stand ups. Most were really, really shit and comedy was far from natural to them, but they still got decent receptions, then some were utter messes on stage and honestly still got a few laughs.
If someone says "you're actually really good" rather than "you're really good", they're not actually saying you're good. They're just saying you're not as shit as they were expecting you to be.
The jokes is probably the easiest part. Crafting routines that actually flow sounds like where the real craft is. And the delivery.
Just don't over-craft. You don't need to meticulously plan it, otherwise when it doesn't go to plan you'll shit yourself. If you can't roll with the punches and read the crowd, you shouldn't be up there.
This sounds like when youre a kid and think youd rock up at Old Trafford and run rings around everyone
Talk about over estimating yourself.
The thing is, people have a lot more inbuilt good will when it comes to wedding speeches etc. At all the weddings I've been to there's a palpable atmosphere of people just wishing it isn't going to be an uncomfortable cringe-fest, and it has to be particularly shit to not get laughs.
You will get a few sympathy laughs at the more good natured studenty open mic nights, cus the audience is largely the mates of the performers. It absolutely isn't like that at most "proper" open mic events from my experiences. If you're not being facetious, and genuinely think being a stand-up would be easy based on those two things, you're being a bit daft.
This is exactly correct.This sounds like when you’re a kid and think you’d rock up at Old Trafford and run rings around everyone
Talk about over estimating yourself.
Go on then, explain Sarah Millican.
Well it was a mixture, plenty of people were genuinely impressed. The former was mostly mates being begrudgingly complimentary to not get his head too big, myself included.
Wow you're being serious. Err, she's got broad appeal cus she does basic, relatable material, has plenty of charisma, has spent years working on her craft and like most mainstream successes in any field, got a bit of luck with right place right time. Duh.
I think Coldplay are shit but it doesn't mean I reckon I could be a rockstar cus I played a few songs at an open mic once and didn't get bottled off the stage.
I said stand up wouldn't be difficult, I didn't say it'd be easy to reach the top. Just like playing guitar and writing songs isn't difficult.
Ok, if you mean it wouldn't be difficult to do stand-up, if only a few little five minute open mic sets and not be totally shit, yeah I'm with you and apologies for misunderstanding. If you think actually BEING a stand-up would be easy, I think you're mental
Yeah, getting paid anything more than free drinks would be difficult and probably require some cock-sucking as well as selling your soul.
Or supporting Michael Macintyre. I can't think of anything worse.
Silly accent. They all have them.
Actually, fuck it, here's one of his long forgotten youtube videos, just to give a bit of context, with the proviso that this was absolutely not his "main project". Maybe it's shite, whatevz.
My friend's estranged wife is six years into her stand-up career, and, even though she has a degree of name recognition and gets booked on the undercard to some pretty big names, she still doesn't earn enough from it to even really cover pursuing it. That could be her gimmick though. If they can't get her they can just book one of the million other women ranting about anti-depressants and abusive relationships (which is where the real prize is for any older men lurking around the comedy circuit, because there appears to be some pretty fine young women around with no self-esteem for anyone with a hot tub).
An insane amount of the stand up I witnessed was about anti-depressants or was anti-men, but that probably sums Brighton up pretty well.
Horror and erotica (lol) I've been published before. The kinda shit I post on here is at odds with how I generally write.
Lol, that doesn't surprise me. The #controversial Aussie comic Brendan Burns was one of the commentators for the wrestling show they used to do every year at Edinburgh (where a combo of comics and local indie wrestlers do sort of royal rumble esque match - James acaster got absolutely twatted with a baking tray), and at one point he yelled, apropos of nothing"GUESS I CAN'T WIN THE FUCKING PERRIER UNLESS I DO A FUCKING DEAD DAD SHOW". An absolutely fair moan to have.
As much as I'm a #teamsensitive lefty wuss, and think that the more confessional, storytelling comedy shows can be great, even I get pissed off with the amount of that shit. The last mixed bill I went to had six acts and a compere, and 4 of them talked at length about their mental health. Like, shut up.
I managed 1 minute and 42 seconds.
That's a disaster.
His 'main project' was this
Lord Jerrington has 79 more subscribers.
i messaged him telling him the welsh weekly stuff has aged well, and he told me "it's a testament to my poor character development, it's basically just Alan Parker urban warrior mixed with some absolute bollocks. And it doesn't make any sense."
maybe i just have really fucking shit taste
I went to Uni with this guy. I still have him on Facebook, but we haven't spoken in 10 years. His sister was in the last series of Undatables as well.
Yeah lad... In friends.
i messaged him telling him the welsh weekly stuff has aged well, and he told me "it's a testament to my poor character development, it's basically just Alan Parker urban warrior mixed with some absolute bollocks. And it doesn't make any sense."
maybe i just have really fucking shit taste
Your stand-up is writing itself.Yeah lad... In friends.
that would be a crushing insult from someone who actually had anyYeah lad... In friends.
My mate has been trying to crack into the comedy circuit for a while and now doing more feature films like this one : https://sheffieldshorts.com/watch-films/tick-tick-tick/
This one is decent.
Is it?
Maybe.
I'd rather he cut that down to five minutes.
Including a 4 and a half minute ad for something.
I think it's important to remember that TTH isn't an important crowd to win over on the road to being Sarah Millican.
Yeah, there's a lot of effort gone into that, bless him.
I had no idea youtube was such a pit of despair.
He did do it about 10 years ago so I think he's progressed a little.
His newer stuff does seem more polished.
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