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Apparently, Carlos Mencia is going to revive his career by stealing Dave Chappelle’s shtick this time.

The conversation about a comedian’s responsibility to choose their targets carefully has been going on since long before the entire comedy world knew that the Mind of Mencia host had been cribbing all of their jokes throughout his career. Mobs of protesters followed Andrew Dice Clay around throughout his heyday in the 1980s for how he repeatedly and gleefully attacked women, immigrants, racial minorities and gay people under the thin guise of humor to the point where comedy’s moral compass, George Carlin, had to step in and warn The Diceman that the same people to whom he was pandering with his “off-color” comedy probably wouldn’t love him so much if they knew he came from a Jewish family.

Enter Mencia — despite being a Honduran immigrant whose “Early Life” tab on...

Threads, a brand-new social app from Instagram that bears more than a passing resemblance to Twitter, has already pulled in a massive user base, notching 50 million signups just a day after launch. The Silicon Valley shakeup is exacerbating tensions between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, with attorneys for the former already arguing that Instagram parent Meta hired “dozens” of former Twitter employees and “misappropriated” its trade secrets to develop the rival app.

But while these tech titans duke it out for the privilege of extracting our personal data, a handful...

Paul Feig’s digital media production company, Powderkeg, announced its first original series.

Called East of La Brea, the show will focus on two Muslim American roommates in their twenties living in Los Angeles. The two stars, according to The Hollywood Reporter, will be Aisha Hassan, a black Muslim, and Farha Munshi, who is a Bangladeshi-American.

Feig will executive produce the series along with Laura Fischer, also from Powderkeg, and Sameer Gardezi, who created the series. Gardezi has written for shows including Modern Family, Mind of Mencia, and Aliens in America.

To create East of La Brea, Gardezi received a grant from the Pop Culture Collaborative, which seeks to further social justice work by supporting stories about “people of color, immigrants, refugees, and Muslims in the media,” according to the organization’s website. The Pop Culture Collaborative is part of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.

“I’m beyond excited to be a...

A new psychological short film, "Seeking Valentina," is currently in post production. The film is an intelligent psychological thriller that deals with many current hot button social issues. It is cast largely against type. Seeking Valentina wants us to not only be entertained by a great story, but to think for ourselves, as well.

Check out the details and some exclusive stills below.

From The Press Release

Much of "Seeking Valentina," was shot in Big Bear CA. Seeking Valentina, written and directed by Armin Nasseri, follows Benjamin (played by Ali Bavarian), a Jewish Iranian-American writer, in the pangs of grief. When Benjamin takes in a whimsical and an engaging tenant and she mysteriously disappears, it is for the audience to decide is she a ghost, a hallucination, a dream or a runaway.

Kristin West (Hell's Kitty, Circus of the Dead), Nasseri's producing partner, also plays the title role of Valentina.

TMZ Sports has figured out where the "No Means No" chant came from after the Rose Bowl ... and it actually started at a comedy show the Oregon team attended in L.A. just a few days before the big game. Here's what we know ... Oregon was at the iconic Improv comedy club Monday for a show featuring Brad Williams -- a pretty famous comic who's been on Kimmel, Leno and "Mind of Mencia."When Williams...

More signs of progress at Saturday Night Live: EW has confirmed that the sketch show has added comedians Lakendra Tookes and Leslie Jones to its writing staff. Their hiring comes two days after SNL announced that New York-based comedian Sasheer Zamata will be the show’s newest featured player. All three women are black — a rarity for SNL, which has featured just four black female cast members in its 39-year history. The Hollywood Reporter first reported the news.

Tookes (pictured at right), a former news reporter, was one of the 11 black women who auditioned for SNL during a secret...

In the seminal television flashback episode, fans get a look at the early beginnings of their favorite characters, usually involving some inspirational moment that brings everyone together in some sentimental fashion. Of course, this is Workaholics we’re talking about here, so the beginnings of our favorite trio typically involves them being jerkasses to each other and a crap-ton of alcohol-fueled dickery. Throw in some weed-influenced shenanigans, and it's basically just another episode of Workaholics… but a damn good one at that. The best quotes below:

| Related: All Workaholics recaps, interviews, news, and more |

"He’s not even a real magician—he’s an illusionist?"

"Ya gotsta have some titties, baby."

"You’re a really good actor. You’re like Sean William Scott; you’re at a Sean William Scott level."

"How do you feel? That girl's prolly gonna kill herself because I don't get to finger bang her!"

"I'm...

By Seth Metoyer, MoreHorror.com

MoreHorror In Hollywood Interviews Vida Ghaffari: Video Interview by Dawna Lee Heising

Vida Ghaffari is one of the stars of the upcoming macabre film "Circus of Dread" from Savage Cinema and Dismal Productions.

Circus of Dread was written and directed by legendary indie Aussie filmmaker Mark Savage. Domiziano Arcangeli and Bill Oberst Jr. also star in "Circus of Dread" and Dawna Lee Heising is a member of the Circus.

The segment was filmed and edited by John Cox. Watch the full interview by Dawna Lee Heising embedded below the official bio of Vida Ghaffari. Also, be sure to check out our official MoreHorror Youtube Page for more video interview's of your favorite horror actors, actresses, directors and more!

Vida Ghaffari Bio:

Vida Ghaffari has been active on the Tinsel town scene as an actress and a reporter. This comedic powerhouse just landed a co-starring...

As a producer, Julia Louis-Dreyfus has a good eye for talent. Her first post-“Seinfeld” gig as producer-star was “Watching Ellie,” which featured none other than Steve Carell as a series regular. Louis-Dreyfus says Carell was the obvious choice the moment she saw his tape. And her series “The New Adventures of Old Christine” boasted a cast of supporting players that included Clark Gregg, Wanda Sykes, and Hamish Linklater. For “Veep,” the producers and casting director Allison Jones have assembled another fantastic cast of players to portray the vice president’s staff.Sufe Bradshaw as Sue Wilson, executive assistantA prominent stage actor, Bradshaw has been seen on such comedies as “Mind of Mencia” and “The Hard Times of Rj Berger.” Says Louis-Dreyfus, “Sufe came in and was so comfortable with improvisation. She makes it look easy.” Anna Chlumsky as Amy Brookheimer, chief of staffThe former child star (“My Girl”) appeared on “In the.

Carlos Mencia knows that fat is funny -- and dropping 70 lbs can be a career killer for a comedian -- but this weekend, the comic found a way to make skinny work ... with the help of a little person. A slimmed-down Mencia was telling us all about the weight loss at The Improv in L.A. ... when his former "Mind of Mencia" co-star Little Brad stopped by. Mencia -- pointing to his pal -- told us,...

Comedian Carlos Mencia visited "Extra's" Mario Lopez at The Grove after shedding 70 pounds!

Mencia is making his television comeback on a Comedy Central special, "New Territory," which focuses on a period of reflection and self-discovery. "A lot of stuff in this new special is about why I am the way I am," Carlos explained.

The controversial funnyman revealed, "I started going to therapy, losing weight, being introspective."

video platform video management

Mencia told Mario where he gets his personality from,...

TV shows new and old came up in conversation this morning. "True Blood" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm" generated strong reactions, and comics writers seem to be looking forward to Syfy's "Alphas," which premieres tonight and apparently employs Marc Bernardin on its writing staff (always a good reason to check anything out), according to Neil Kleid.

Gabriel Hardman, meanwhile, critiqued Marvel's old Iron Man animated series—though he was more excited about Stan Lee's backdrop during the show's intro than he was about the in-story action. Find out why in our list of retweets below. It's there alongside some suggestions for revamped movie titles that use "In My Pants" as a secret ingredient.

I'm @brianwarmoth, and this is the Twitter Report for July 11, 2011.

@gabrielhardman Yeesh, this 90's Iron Man cartoon is bad though. But I did remember right, Stan Lee has a poster I drew in 1994 behind him in the intro.

Edwin Bravo didn’t make the decision to pursue an entertainment career until he was in his 30’s, but the Filipino actor hasn’t looked back since. He’s quickly building a solid resume in Hollywood, with appearances in several hit film and television shows, including Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Hawaii Five-o, Sons of Tucson, Southland, and Mind of Mencia.

The actor has several cool projects lined up for 2011. The first one is the new series Harry’s Law co-starring alongside Academy Award winning actress Kathy Bates and then we’ll see him on Supah Ninjas later this year on Nickelodeon, did I mention Sulu (George Takai) is on that show? Check out my latest “Versus” to learn more about the cool and really down to earth Edwin Bravo.

Brian S- First off , you got into acting in your 30's. What took you so long? Is...

Comedian Skyler Stone is hosting an incredible night of comedy in support of Generosity Water tonight, Tuesday October 5, at Hollywood Improv.

The show starts at 10pm, and the line up will include Carlos Mencia (Mind Of Mencia), Bobby Lee (Mad TV), Skyler Stone (Raising Hope), Maz Jobrani (Friday After Next), Natasha Leggero (Chelsea Lately), Plus a Very Special Guest whose identity is being closely guarded!

The evening benefits Generosity Water, an organization which builds drinking wells for people who don’t have access to clean drinking water.

Read more...

The screeners having been coming so thick and fast here at CinemaSpy that we can't find the time to write them all up and sip margaritas on the beach. Hence, we've cheated and written a bunch in what journalists call a 'short and snappy' form. That way, you get to read our recommendations of what to watch and what to avoid and still have time to read the millions of Twitter messages you've got with a link to that video of the British weather forecaster flicking the bird at a news reader.

Do tell us what you think (of the reviews, not the forecaster). We will continue to bring you long-form reviews of selected releases (the upcoming Alien Anthology, for instance), but expect to see more like these...

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Genre: Family Comedy

Starring: Zachary Gordon, Robert Capron, Rachael Harris, Steve Zahn

Director: Thor Freudenthal

Screenwriters: Jackie Filgo,...

There’s the old truism attributed to Picasso that good artists copy, but great artists steal. So does this make Carlos Mencia the greatest artist of our time? The stand-up comedian is known primarily from his former Comedy Central show, Mind of Mencia, but you could argue that he’s equally famous nowadays for his alleged joke-stealing, and now the accusations of thievery have led to something of a mini Twitter-breakdown.

This comes after comedy podcaster Marc Maron put together a fascinating hour of discussion about the comedian’s tendency to pinch punchlines, interviewing two of his friends and colleagues,...

Ken Ober, the host of one of MTV's early non-music series, the pop culture game show "Remote Control," passed to that great boob tube in the sky recently. Ober was the Wink Martindale of Generation X, going on to host three more game shows ("Make Me Laugh," "Smush," and "Perfect Match") before trading in his blue cue cards for a job behind the camera. Most recently he produced comedies like "Mind of Mencia" and "The New Adventures of Old Christine."

But Ober wasn't the only young hopeful to get his start on the emerging music television channel in its early days. In fact, MTV launched the careers of some of Hollywood's biggest actors and continues to discover future celebrities in unlikely places like the O.C. Take a look at stars who got their start on MTV and see where they are now.

The host of one of MTV's early non-music series "Remote Control" passed to that great game show in the sky this week. The 1980s pop culture quiz show tested contestants' knowledge of TV, music videos, and all things entertainment by strapping them into recliners and handing them a remote used to chose categories. Ober was quick-witted and casual, a perfect combo for the MTV fare. He was the Wink Martindale of Generation X, going on to host three more game shows ("Make Me Laugh," "Smush," and "Perfect Match") before trading in his blue cue cards for a job behind the camera. Most recently he produced comedies like "Mind of Mencia" and "The New Adventures of Old Christine." He is credited with helping launch the careers of several comedians including "Rc" regulars like Adam Sandler who said he was one of "sharpest, quickest, sweetest guys I ever met," and Denis Leary added,...

Attention children of the '80s: If you haven't already heard, television's Ken Ober died at the age of 52. The cause of death is not yet determined, although his agent noted that Ober "complained of headaches and flu-like symptoms on Saturday night." While he produced shows like Mind of Mencia and The New Adventures of Old Christine, he's probably best known for his time as the host of MTV's '80s quiz show: Remote Control.

Remember it? Three players would get strapped into arm chairs, answer questions about television and film (basically anything that could be found on TV), find food raining down on their heads, and get entertained by the likes of Colin Quinn, Kari Wuhrer, Denis Leary, and Adam Sandler. It was part classic MTV ridiculousness, and part media junky geek party.

In memory of the host and show, I thought I'd take us back in time for...

Ken Ober, host of "Remote Control" is dead at the age of 53. Ober is remembered as the host from the game show which aired on MTV back in the 1980's. According to the Associated Press, Ober was found dead in his home in Santa Monica on Sunday. The cause of his death is unknown at this time, however, reports said he'd complained of headaches and flu-like symptoms Saturday evening. Ober hosted five season of the previous hit game show "Remote Control" and helped produce shows like "Mind of Mencia" and "The New Adventures of Old Christine". Famous faces who participated on the game show include Adam Sandler, Dennis Leary, LL Cool J, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jerry Mathers and 'Weird Al' Yankovic. Ken's friends and family have our prayers.

Read more...

Ken Ober, best known as the host of the MTV game show Remote Control, has died at the age of 52.  No cause of death has been identified as yet.

Ober was the host of the series for five seasons on MTV, airing first in 1987.  The series helped launched the careers of several notables, including Colin Quinn, Kari Wuhrer, Denis Leary and Adam Sandler.  He followed the series as producer of Mind of Mencia for Comedy Central and also as a consulting producer for several episodes of The New Adventures of Old Christine on CBS.  Ober got his start as a stand up comedian on Star Search in 1984 where he was named the Comedian Champion.

If you want to get a bit nostalgic with us, come on along with us back to the late 80's... and yes, there may even be an odd comic book tie-in for this episode:...

Ken Ober, who hosted MTV's pop-culture-centric game show Remote Control for five seasons beginning in 1987, was found dead in his home on Sunday, the network reports. The 52-year-old's cause of death has yet to be determined. Ober began his career on Star Search but spent recent years behind the scenes, working in production on comedies like The New Adventures of Old Christine and Mind of Mencia. "Kenny Ober was and always will be the quickest wit in the room," fellow funnyman Denis Leary tells MTV News. "He was fall-down funny from the moment he was born—a smart, fast and hilarious human being who made many of us, including myself, laugh until we cried. As the star and host of Remote...

Ken Ober, the humorous and abrasive host of the MTV game show “Remote Control,” has passed on. He was 52.

Airing at the apex of the MTV Network’s history, 1987 through 1990, Remote Control pitted three teenage or young adult contestants in a trivia competition, answering questions about music, television, and pop culture. The show also featured skits and character sketches from new improv comedians, helping launch the careers of Colin Quinn, Denis Leary and Adam Sandler. Several episodes are available online.

Remote Control, aside from being thoroughly enjoyable even two decades later, was notable for being one of MTV’s first forays into non-music video programming. The game show paved a path for all the subversively weird programming MTV would soon become famous for: Liquid Television, Beavis and Butt-Head, The State, Jackass, and Wonder Showzen all owe a debt of gratitude to Ken Ober and his comedic dissidence.

Sadly, following Remote Control’s cancellation,...

Sad news has been circulating today throughout Twitter, Facebook and elsewhere, that Ken Ober, host of Remote Control -- the MTV game show that featured a pre-fame Colin Quinn and Adam Sandler -- died suddenly over the weekend. No official statement has come from reps for the comedian and TV writer-producer, who in recent years worked on shows like The New Adventures of Old Christine and Mind of Mencia; further confusing the issue are several online reports saying the reports are false. Sadly, however, everything we're hearing is that Ober did pass away, with reputable colleagues like P.F. Tompkins now confirming the news via Twitter. After the jump, some video from 1989 of Ober holding court over Remote Control at the show's tiled podium. Developing...

Comedian and TV personality Ken Ober died this weekend, according to Mark Measures, an agent at Abrams Artists who worked with him. Ober, who hosted four game shows over the course of his career, was widely known for his role on the MTV game show Remote Control, which he hosted for five seasons, spanning 1987 to 1990. Most recently, he served as producer for the CBS sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine and Mind of Mencia. He was 52.

Cause of comedian's death was not clear at press time.

By Eric Ditzian

Ken Ober in 2004

Photo: Peter Kramer/Getty Images

Longtime MTV "Remote Control" host Ken Ober has passed away at the age of 52, the comedian's representative confirmed to MTV News. The cause of his death was not available at press time.

Ober's career began in the mid-1980s with a turn on the talent competition "Star Search" and in more recent years segued into behind-the-scenes production positions on comedy shows like "Mind of Mencia" and "The New Adventures of Old Christine."

Starting in 1987, Ober hosted five seasons of "Remote Control," which, along with "Club MTV" and "The Week In Rock," was MTV's first foray into series television. A quiz show that tested contestants' pop-culture knowledge, the set bore a strong resemblance to a suburban home's basement. Standing behind a makeshift lectern and next to a giant television screen that helped guide the show,...

Placing The Jeff Dunham Show within Comedy Central's programming array is a challenge. Let's see: It combines Chappelle's Show's sketch format (We're doing Ok so far), South Park's invocation of racism and homophobia -- minus that onus of irony, darn it!-- and the googly-eyed, happy-slappy contrivance of Mind of Mencia. So what do we have? Voila: a quagmire of petty laughs and offensive gags aimed at the desperately ignorant. You'll be relieved to find there is a niche for such obscure humor; The Jeff Dunham Show dragged in Comedy Central's highest premiere ratings ever.

Lauren Corrao is stepping down as president of original programming and development at Comedy Central to return to producing.

Corrao, who will depart when her current contract expires at the end of the year, spent seven years at the cable network.

She joined Comedy Central in 2002 as a senior vp, original programming and head of development and oversaw the development and launches of such series as "Chappelle's Show," "Reno 911!," "Drawn Together," "Mind of Mencia," "The Sarah Silverman Program" and "Important Things with Demetri Martin."

Doug Herzog, president of MTV Networks Entertainment Group, who announced Corrao's departure in an internal memo Monday, said he and Comedy Central president Michele Ganeles will be looking for a replacement in the next few months.

"Comedy Central has been my passion and my family for the past seven years and I'm very proud of the legacy I'll leave behind," Corrao said. "But I feel that...

Burbank – Chat Fatigue is coming.

Forget swine flu (or H1N1); Chat Fatigue will be the sickness that will overtake millions this fall. The group most susceptible to this are NBC viewers. Now that Jay Leno will be taking over the 10 p.m. slot from Monday to Friday (starting Sept. 14) on the Peacock network, viewers will get four hours of people sitting behind desks and talking directly to the camera.

Can the average viewer really handle going from Leno to local news to Conan O’Brien to Jimmy Fallon to Carson Daly? How many guys in suits and ties sitting behind a desk do you want to experience after an 8 hours of work day with guys in suits and ties sitting behind desks? They’re all going to stare at you through the boob tube and jibber jabber. Kinda like the doofus with the desk next to you at work.

Last night was the season finale of Michael & Michael Have Issues on Comedy Central. Which means fans of the show can look forward either to its second season or its quiet death. With rare exceptions (like Important Things with Demetri Martin), shows come and go on Comedy Central with little fanfare. Mind of Mencia and Lewis Black's Root of All Evil weren't renewed, but their cancellations were never really announced, just mentioned by the players on the shows themselves.

So here's your chance to weigh in. Did you like Mmhi? Were you one of the fans who attended the "blarties" and "twarties" (blog parties and twitter parties)? Did you pick up The State on DVD and watch for nostalgia? What did you think of the sketch show within a show format?Continue reading Did you watch Michael and Michael Have Issues?

 

Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Reality-Free

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Lauren Corrao has been upped to president of original programming and development at Comedy Central.

Corrao, who was executive vp, has overseen the development of such Comedy Central series as The Sarah Silverman Program, Reno 911! Mind of Mencia, Drawn Together, Lil' Bush and Chappelle's Show. She will continue to be responsible for the development and supervision of all original programming on the network and original content created specifically for digital platforms, overseeing the development teams in Los Angeles and New York.

Corrao also will manage the network's talent and events staff, who are responsible for identifying and developing promising comedians and comedy stars and producing such special event programming as the Comedy Central Roast franchise and the network's stand-up specials. Corrao also will supervise the Comedy Central Records label.

In addition, Corrao is responsible for attracting established comedic talent to the network. Most recently, deals were signed with Silverman; Lewis Black, whose pop-culture debate series The Root of All Evil is scheduled to debut in March; and Demetri Martin, whose sketch-variety show Important Things With Demetri Martin is targeted to debut in the fall.

Comedy Central has renewed Mind of Mencia and the animated series Lil' Bush.

The network has ordered 10 new episodes for the fourth season of Mind of Mencia, featuring comedian Carlos Mencia offering his point of view on various topics, and is targeting a spring premiere. The show is executive produced and created by Mencia and Robert Morton.

Mencia averaged 1.5 million total viewers during its third season, ranking No. 1 among basic cable with men 18-24 in its time slot at 10-10:30 p.m. Sundays. The third-season DVD hits stores Oct. 23.

"Carlos Mencia is a huge asset to our network," said Lauren Corrao, exec VP original programming and development, adding that he "connects with our audience on every level."

Added Mencia: "I look forward to doing another season of 'Mind of Mencia.' I hope this doesn't mean I can't be on 'Dancing With the Stars.' "

Mencia next appears on the big screen in The Heartbreak Kid. He is repped by Gersh Agency, managers Lee Kernis and Tim Sarkes at Brillstein Entertainment and attorney David Matlof.

Comedy Central topped the 12th annual NAMIC Vision Awards, which honor "outstanding achievements in original, multiethnic cable programming." The network took home two nods -- Mind of Mencia and Weekends at the DL tied for best comedy -- on Tuesday at a black-tie gala at the Regent Beverly Wilshire. HBO's Lackawanna Blues was cited in the drama category, and Disney Channel's That's So Raven won in the children's category. Other winners included Steve Harvey for best comedic performance for hosting BET's 2005 Comedy Awards and Irene Bedard for best dramatic performance for TNT's Into the West. The awards were presented by the National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications and NAMIC-Southern California.

It's Mencia mania over at Comedy Central. The network is throwing its support behind comedian Carlos Mencia through a multifaceted deal that will see his comedy series Mind of Mencia officially renewed for a second season. Also as part of the deal, Mencia will shoot a one-hour stand-up special for the cable network and will host a live-performance tour in more than 30 U.S. markets next year under the Comedy Central Live banner. In addition, Comedy Central Home Entertainment is planning to release an uncensored DVD of the show's first season that will include bonus material such as deleted scenes, outtakes and never-before-seen backstage "diary" footage. The DVD will be released in conjunction with the show's second season, set to premiere in March with a 13-episode order.

Comedy Central has extended the first-season order of series Mind of Mencia. Three new episodes have been stacked on top of the original order of 10, bringing its run to a close Sept. 28. Executive produced by series star Carlos Mencia and Robert Morton, Mencia has averaged 1.4 million total viewers to date.