Entertainment

The Comedy Store looks to tradition to keep the future funny

Published

3 years ago

April 7, 2022

The Comedy Store looks to tradition to keep the future funny

For 50 years, the Comedy Retailer has been a membership in want of comics, and a spot for comics in want of a membership. The connection is as plain because the writing on the partitions of the storied venue, cluttered with the names of its greatest stars dotting its black exterior in white cursive. However that solely tells a fraction of the story of a venue that’s anchored itself in comedy historical past, making a magnetic pull that brings new stars in and retains the veterans coming again.

Days earlier than receiving the slap heard around the world on the Oscars, Chris Rock spent every week understanding his newest materials for the Retailer crowd, shocking viewers members who had no concept he can be popping in on a weeknight. When his title was introduced, the air contained in the membership’s Important Room turned electrical.

“When it’s Tuesday evening, you’re right here and folks noticed Chris Rock simply strolling onstage, the vibe and the tempo simply modified, it livened up,” normal supervisor Richi Taylor says. “After which these folks inform their pals, ‘You’re not gonna consider this! You had been supposed to return and also you didn’t!’ And so they’re teasing them that they missed when Chris got here in … nights like which have at all times helped the notoriety of the membership.”

It’s been a yr because the membership at 8433 W. Sundown Blvd. reopened its doorways after shuttering through the pandemic. Celebrating its fiftieth anniversary at this time, the Retailer and its nightly magic are again, together with a lot of its traditions. The door particular person greeting incoming crowds is at all times prone to be an aspiring stand-up comedian charged with watching different comics onstage whereas ready for his or her shot on the highlight. Strolling in by way of the halls, the membership nonetheless appears to be like and feels the way in which it did in 1972, its darkish crimson vibe greatest suited to a room full of snickers, icy cocktails and physique warmth.

On the highest flooring of the shop, the workplace of its legendary proprietor, the late Mitzi Shore, sits unchanged from the final day she left it. The tablets in her drawer, papers on her desk and images on her wall haven’t been touched since she stopped working the membership in 2002. Since her demise in 2018, employees members who work on the membership say that her spirit is ever-present, particularly Peter Shore, her son who took over because the Retailer’s CEO 20 years in the past.

Although the membership would possibly really feel the identical, Peter says he runs it very in a different way than his mom. He’s not the one sitting in on the reveals scouting expertise, or ruling with an iron fist — he’s by no means even had an workplace within the constructing. The Portland, Ore., resident spends most of his days working as a therapist and solely often visits L.A. But the employees he’s employed to assist the Retailer’s traditions keep alive has given him room to determine methods he can usher them into the longer term.

“I’ve gone out of my strategy to not be the face of the Retailer,” Shore says. “I’ve been the CEO for a really very long time. I feel it’s emblematic of my method and working the place, which is that it’s all about ensuring that the comics really feel prefer it’s their dwelling. … This home belongs to the comics.”

A classic shot of the Comedy Retailer as run by Mitzi Shore throughout its heyday by way of the ’70s and ’80s.

(The Comedy Retailer)

In fact, there have been instances when the home virtually fell aside — starting with the landmark strike in 1979 when comics refused to work for Mitzi on the membership with out getting paid to carry out, a second that shook up the world of stand-up and altered how the comics acquired compensated. Many years later, Shore remembers the darkish days of the early aughts when the membership was falling into extreme disrepair and in peril of closing its doorways greater than as soon as. Within the early 2000s, they relied on a profit present headlined by the late Robin Williams simply so he might pay to repair the roof. Within the late ‘90s and early aughts, the Retailer’s first city hip-hop comedy evening, Phat Tuesdays — created by comic Man Torry — virtually single-handedly saved the membership open and have become the shot within the arm that it wanted as crowds and celebrities packed the viewers once more.

For the Shore household, that ache was additionally private, from the monetary woes to the fallout between Shore and his brother comic Pauly Shore, who wrestled for possession of the membership within the mid-aughts. At the moment, Pauly doesn’t have a task in working the membership, although he does nonetheless carry out on the membership places in L.A. and La Jolla.

The fiftieth anniversary of the Comedy Retailer comes at a notable time on this planet of comedy, one during which the world has indelibly shifted and comedy has needed to adapt to new generations. Shore says that, though the Retailer has its traditions, he’s been attempting to make it really feel welcoming to the comics and audiences of at this time the way in which it did when it was opened on April 7, 1972, by his father, comic Sammy Shore, and comedy author Rudy DeLuca together with Mitzi, who took the membership over after she and Sammy divorced two years later. A part of that has been altering the methods issues had been at all times achieved. Although the system of comedian improvement — going from working the door to turning into a paid common comedian — continues to be intact.

“It’s sort of like minor league baseball,” Taylor says. “Comics begin off in Single A, they play properly, they will go along with the Double A, you understand, then you will get into that, you understand, Triple A. That’s while you turn into a paid common, that’s while you make it.”

The Comedy Store at night with a line of people outside.

Nevertheless, since 2014, Shore has achieved away with utilizing the passing system for main touring comics who by no means labored the Retailer earlier than turning into paid regulars — beginning with David Spade, who grew to become a daily over a decade after his profession took off. This has additionally opened the Retailer to many extra common comics from everywhere in the nation, Shore says.

In line with the spirit of the traditional period of ’60s and ’70s comedy albums Shore grew up listening to, the membership just lately began Comedy Retailer Information, signing comics and having their comedy albums pressed on vinyl. In the meantime, the Comedy Retailer Podcast Community additionally continues to develop, including reveals from comics like Justin Martindale, Rick Ingraham, Jamar Neighbors and Chelsea Skidmore to its roster. Shore credit the comedy podcast increase of the 2010s with introducing the Retailer to a brand new viewers as comics like Marc Maron, Invoice Burr, Joe Rogan and Whitney Cummings branched out and have become their very own manufacturers with huge audiences outdoors the membership circuit, whereas nonetheless selling their tour dates.

“To at the present time, as large as Rogan is, you pop in any of his podcasts, you dial it in to any time that he talks about my mother, what does he do? He begins crying,” Shore says. “Irrespective of how large he’s, regardless of how highly effective and influential he’s, on the core of his being is how my mom and that Retailer has touched him.”

One change to the Retailer’s technique that Shore felt adamant about was hiring a feminine expertise director — the primary since Mitzi was in cost. Emilie Laford, a veteran comedy booker, jumped on the likelihood to usher in a brand new chapter within the membership’s historical past of garnering the world’s prime comedy expertise. Over the past a number of years, she’s taken the reins, reserving Zoom reveals and discovering inventive methods to e-book expertise through the pandemic.

“It’s nice, you understand, sort of like attempting to place collectively a puzzle or like a recipe with completely different substances,” Laford mentioned. “We actually take satisfaction in the truth that we attempt to develop our personal homegrown individuals who provide you with a system right here. … It was nice to have these traditions nonetheless be a part of the membership.”

Regardless of opening up extra doorways for brand spanking new comics, one rule stays steadfast: Irrespective of how common or viral a comic is, they’ve to have the ability to show their abilities onstage. Which means resisting the strain to e-book TikTok comedy creators with enormous followings in the event that they haven’t put time into doing stand-up in actual life.

“There’s brokers and managers on the market who’re selling what they’re calling stand-up comics, who’ve these wild presences on TikTok or Instagram or no matter, doing these bits,” Shore mentioned. “And so they’ve acquired tons of of hundreds of followers … however we’re like, they’re not comics. Come and work out, go work out on the Potluck. As a result of there may be nothing to substitute that dwell expertise.”

On the Retailer, “understanding” means placing a comic book’s analytics-driven ego apart to see how their act interprets in entrance of a room stuffed with strangers. The objective is at all times to refine their act till these strangers turn into followers and the comics they share the stage with turn into household.

That homegrown Comedy Retailer household, a lot of whom at the moment are worldwide stars, can be a part of the membership’s non-public celebration on Thursday for the anniversary, which Laford says can be extra of a celebration than one super-long comedy present — a greater state of affairs for the comics who’d want to assemble round banquet tables and have a couple of laughs with out being onstage.

Regardless of celebrating the history-making expertise that’s come out of this constructing, the fiftieth anniversary comes at a bittersweet time for the Retailer. The celebration will little doubt really feel quite a bit emptier with out the presence of Bob Saget, Paul Mooney, John Witherspoon, Jeff Scott — the membership’s longtime piano participant — and different nice comics who’ve died through the pandemic.

A part of the way forward for the Retailer relies upon quite a bit on remembering the previous, Shore says, and holding the traditions intact for these searching for a spot on this revered comics clubhouse. As an alternative of chasing the tendencies of the surface world, the membership continues to evolve from inside as veteran comics assist newbies discover their manner.

Whereas Chris Rock was onstage making ready his act for the street, he noticed proficient homegrown Retailer comic Ingraham performing. He was so impressed he pulled him apart and requested him to go on the street to open for him, Taylor says. For the Retailer’s normal supervisor and everybody who works on the membership, these are the sort of success tales that make it particular.

“I take pleasure in watching the blokes that go make it they usually go away as a result of they grew to become one thing else and have prospered,” Taylor says. “I prefer to say ‘That man used to work right here. I used to yell at him to cowl the ticket sales space or go to the car parking zone and transfer automobiles.’ Now they’re on TV, they’re making albums, they’re doing every thing.”

The custom of outgrowing the shop and returning to domesticate it’s one which Mitzi instilled within the membership and one which ensures it’ll at all times have a future and hopefully hold the payments paid and folks laughing. The ability of that magic lasting 5 many years can’t be overstated, Shore says.

“If you stroll into that constructing, it’s precisely because it was in 1972 and ’73, ’74. There’s photos nonetheless on the wall that haven’t moved … and for some people, like, that’s actually necessary. They get to return in time and really feel snug,” Shore says. “I feel you take a look at that by way of the lens of at this time’s chaotic world, and it’s one thing that you would be able to’t actually ignore. There’s that means to that, and that’s necessary for some folks.”

Movie Reviews

Daaku Maharaaj Review – Gulte

Published

3 hours ago

January 12, 2025

Press Room

2.75/5

2 Hr 27 Mins | Action | 12-01-2025

Cast – Nandamuri Balakrishna, Bobby Deol, Pragya Jaiswal, Shraddha Srinath, Urvashi Rautela, Chandini Chowdary, Shine Tom Chacko, Makarand Deshpande, Sachin Khedekar, Ravi Kishan, VTV Ganesh and others.

Director – Bobby Kolli

Producer – Suryadevara Naga Vamsi & Sai Soujanya

Banner – Sithara Entertainments & Fortune Four Cinemas

Music – Thaman S

Akhanda, Veera Simha Reddy & Bhagavanth Kesari, after delivering three back-to-back successful films, Nandamuri Balakrishna teamed up with Bobby Kolli, who delivered a blockbuster hit with his previous film, Waltair Veerayya and the production house, Sithara Entertainments. After grabbing the attention of the audience with its slick and stylish visuals in the teaser and trailer, the film was released in theatres today. Did Balakrishna deliver his fourth consecutive successful film? Did Bobby deliver another blockbuster after Waltair Veerayya? Did Sithara Entertainments continue its success streak after a memorable film like Lucky Baskhar? More importantly, did the slick and stylish visuals have the substance? Let’s find out with a detailed analysis.

What is it about?

Govind Gujjar(Makarand Deshpande) requests Nanaji to protect a little girl, Baby Vaishnavi and her family from the local MLA, Thrimurthulu Naidu and his brother(Sandeep Raj). Nanaji, while doing his job as the caretaker to the family, comes across a gang of Thakurs from Madhya Pradesh who runs Cocaine cultivation in the name of Tea Estate. During their first confrontation with the Thakurs gang, one of the gang members reveals that Nanaji’s real name is Daaku Maharaj. Who is Daaku Maharaj? What is Daaku Maharaj’s relationship with Baby Vaishnavi? What is the enmity between the Daaku Maharaj and Thakur brothers? Forms the rest of the story.

Performances:

Nandamuri Balakrishna delivered a subtle and impactful performance yet again right after ‘Bhagavanth Kesari’. His energy during the confrontation sequences with multiple antagonist characters & his energy during action sequences deserve appreciation. He looked good in the role of Nanaji and civil engineer Seetharam as well as ‘Daaku Maharaj’.

Pragya Jaiswal & Shraddha Srinath got limited but crucial roles. Both the actresses made their presence felt. The little girl who played the role of ‘Baby Vaishnavi’ delivered a good & confident performance. Ravi Kishan as Thrimurthulu Naidu did his role well and looked menacing.

Bobby Deol as the main antagonist and the younger brother in deadly Thakur’s family got a very good entry sequence. He did his part well in a not-so-well-written role. Shine Tom Chacko, Makarand Deshpande, VTV Ganesh, etc., the film had many notable actors. All of them made their presence felt but most of these characters were not written well.

Technicalities:

The cinematography by Vijay Kartik Kannan is undoubtedly the best thing that happened to the film. His visuals throughout the film are slick, stylish and very refreshing. Daaku Maharaaj is without a doubt one of the best Balakrishna film to date in terms of visuals. Especially, the visuals during the pre-interval sequence are top-notch. After the cinematography, the second-best thing that happened in the film was Thaman’s background score. His background score elevated and enhanced many sequences to the next level in the film. The ‘Chinni Chinni’ song is pleasant to hear and looks very good on screen. There are three other songs in the film including a mass number & two montage songs but none of these three songs leave any lasting impact.

Dialogues by Nandu Savirigana & Bhanu Bogavarapu are largely written keeping Balakrishna’s image in mind and are aimed to please the fans of Balakrishna & mass audience. There are quite a few dialogues in the film which are likely to draw whistles & cheers from the fans in theatres. Editing by Ruben & Niranjan Devaramane is a mixed bag. Their work is slick at places and would have been better at places. Especially, the editing during pre-climax and climax episodes would have been better.

Production values by Sithara Entertainments are very good as usual. Producer, Naga Vamsi and team spent enough money to give the film a very stylish and grand look. Kudos to the producers for hiring notable actors across multiple film industries even for small & not so significant roles. Bobby, the director took a routine script and mixed enough commercial elements to make the film a decent commercial entertainer. Let’s talk more about his work in the analysis section.

Positives:

Balakrishna’s Subtle & Yet Impactful Performance
Excellent Visuals
Superb Background Score
A Couple of Action Sequences
Fans & Mass Audience Friendly Dialogues
Pre-Interval Sequence

Negatives:

Routine Storyline
Predictable Screenplay
Dragged Out Pre-Climax & Climax
‘Dabidi Dibidi’ Song Choreography

Analysis:

Kamal Hassan’s Vikram & Rajinikanth’s Jailer are now textbook references for any filmmaker who wants to make a film with a senior star hero in India across the film industry. The one thing that filmmakers have to keep in mind is that both Vikram and Jailer became a phenomenon for their innovative screenplay but not ‘Just’ because of their stylish presentation. The slick and stylish visuals along with terrific music only enhanced the impact of those films to another level but are not the ‘Only’ reasons for their phenomenal success.

For Daaku Maharaj, the director, Bobby, selected a very routine story and wrote a predictable screenplay around it but made sure to include enough adrenaline-pumping moments at regular intervals. The pre-interval sequence and transformation sequence of Seetharam into Daaku Maharaaj stands out. Both these sequences along with the dialogues used for the lead character will be liked immensely by the fans and mass audience.

The cinematography by Vijay Kartik Kannan & background score by Thaman are undoubtedly the major highlights of the film. However, the impact of cinematography and background score was brought down by routine execution. Barring an interesting twist related to the character, Baby Vaishnavi, right from the opening sequence to the climax, the film runs on a very predictable note. Especially, the last thirty minutes of the film would have been better with better writing for Bobby Deol’s character. Also, the choreography in the ‘Dabidi Dibidi’ song should have been better.

Overall, Daaku Maharaaj is a decent commercial entertainer and it can be watched easily once in theatres for Balakrishna’s subtle & yet impactful performance, slick & stylish visuals, Thaman’s background score and a few very well-executed sequences. With a bit of extra care in writing, this film would have become a memorable film in Nandamuri Balakrishna’s career.

Daaku Maharaaj – Stylish Maharaaj

Rating: 2.75/5

Tags Daaku Maharaaj Daaku Maharaaj Review

Entertainment

Column: For Angelenos suffering fire fatigue, ace water drop videos are sweet revenge

Published

5 hours ago

January 11, 2025

Press Room

Column: For Angelenos suffering fire fatigue, ace water drop videos are sweet revenge

Look, up in the sky. It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a Super Scooper water drop!

The most memorable battle scenes exist in the pivot — the moment when all appears to be lost and then, out of nowhere, the cavalry arrives. The fishing boats at Dunkirk. Union reinforcements at Gettysburg. Or, fictionally, the Riders of Rohan sweeping down on the besieged city of Gondor.

For Angelenos, the cavalry has arrived in the form of water drop videos.

For days, images from the horrendous series of wildfires that continue to consume huge swaths of Los Angeles have been devastating. People forced to flee their cars on Sunset Boulevard; sparks whipped by 80-mph winds igniting entire streets; firefighters hastening evacuations and confronting literal walls of flame; the smoking shells of homes and businesses.

These images shocked, terrified and aggrieved us. It was difficult not to feel helpless, hopeless, as the fires grew in size and number.

Then, as the ferocious winds began to die down on Wednesday, firefighters were once again able to take to the air, scooping up water from the ocean and reservoirs and dumping it on the fires. TV journalists caught some of the maneuvers on camera. Citizens filmed others on their phones. Everyone began posting and sharing them on social media.

Whether in Altadena, West Hills or Hollywood, the videos — call them firefighting fancams — depict firefighting pilots angling planes over flames that appear uncontrollable and releasing, with remarkable precision, gallons of water that douse raging infernos in a matter of seconds.

It is impossible not to cheer. And at this moment, Los Angeles needs something to cheer about.

For days, fire has been our worst enemy. Randomly killing and arbitrarily destroying, it has taken on near-supernatural dimensions, appearing at times to be laughing as it sped through brush and buildings, forcing thousands to flee.

Watching it be squashed into nothing but smoke and steam is an exhilarating thing. Thought you were unstoppable? Take that. Thought you were too big to be beaten? Yippee-ki-yay, motherf—!

To a city reeling with loss, water drop videos are “Battle of Britain” and Snoopy beating the Red Baron. They’re rebel pilots taking down the Death Star, Bill Pullman’s speech in “Independence Day,” LeBron James hitting a final-second three. Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” and the Weather Girls’ “It’s Raining Men.”

The precision of the drops is astonishing, the impact heart-lifting, their moments of victory obvious and unquestionable.

The only thing missing are the job-done figures of the pilots walking away from their aircraft in vivid silhouette to a pounding bass accompaniment. For the simple reason that they are still hard at work.

But a grateful city sees them and has been offering viral shout-outs and admiration by posting water drop videos with the “Top Gun” soundtrack, sportscaster commentary and many, many applause emojis.

Two yellow Canadian Super Scoopers have been especially well-documented dropping water over the Palisades. One of them was grounded on Thursday after colliding with a civilian drone, and whoever was idiotic enough to illegally send one up during a firefight better hope the internet doesn’t find them before the feds do. These planes, helicopters and Super Scoopers are our heroes, providing support for the fearless, stretched-thin firefighters on the ground, helping to quench the Sunset fire before it claimed more homes and offering hope that at some point Los Angeles will cease to burn.

More important, the water drop videos have returned a feeling of control to the populace — and given us all something to root for.

Firefighters have been working nonstop since the Palisades fire exploded, and their efforts amid the smoke and flames have been lifesaving and heroic. It’s satisfying to watch the fruits of that hard work in the form of a fire all but extinguished before it claims yet another acre or snakes its way toward any more homes.

In fact, it’s the best thing any of us has seen in days.

Movie Reviews

Daaku Maharaaj Review: USA Premiere Report

Published

11 hours ago

January 11, 2025

Press Room

Daaku Maharaaj Review: USA Premiere Report

Final Report:

Daaku Maharaaj makes for a decent one-time watch. It’s a stylishly made film through and through, but the key characters are written routinely. Technical departments (Thaman and DOP) significantly enhance the appeal. Solid writing that complements the stylish production would have made this film a memorable one. Watch it for Balayya in a style-packed production. Stay tuned for the full review and rating soon.

First Half Report:

First half of Daaku Maharaaj is decent, with solid visuals and an action-packed interval episode. We need to see if the style meets substance in the second half. Thaman and Vijay Kannan (DOP) together make it technically good. The second half needs to show if Bobby has written something solid.

— Director Bobby briefly dances in “Dabidi Dibidi” song with nice styling and a stylish costume for his fun moment.

— Daaku Maharaaj begins with a brief action sequence where BalaKrishna declares that he is the ‘God of Death’ leading into a flashback. Stay tuned for the first half report.

Stay tuned for Daaku Maharaaj review, USA Premiere report. Show begins at 2.30 PM EST (1 AM IST).

Daaku Maharaaj comes after a goodwill film like Bhagavanth Kesari for Nandamuri Balakrishna, and for director Bobby, it’s a follow-up to the commercial blockbuster Waltair Veerayya. Stay tuned for the Daaku Maharaaj review to find out if the Balayya-Bobby combo hits the bullseye or not.

Cast: Nandamuri Balakrishna, Bobby Deol, Pragya Jaiswal, Shraddha Srinath, Chandhini Chowdary.

Written and Directed by Bobby Kolli

Banners: Sithara Entertainments & Fortune Four Cinemas
Presenter: Srikara Studios
Producers: Suryadevara Naga Vamsi & Sai Soujanya
Music: Thaman S
DOP: Vijay Kartik Kannan
Editors: Niranjan Devaramane, Ruben
Screenplay: K Chakravarthy Reddy
VFX Supervisor: Yugandhar T
Stunts: V Venkat

U.S. Distributor: Shloka Entertainments

Daaku Maharaaj Movie Review by M9

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