BIG NEWS celebrates 300 shows this Sunday!
BIG NEWS is always your “in” for great live comedy and we celebrate our 300th show in true Spartan style this Sunday by kicking the ass of the Persian army! Okay, not quite. But we will be carpet bombing the IO West audience with laughter, and in the good company of stand-up legend Emo Phillips.
Please read the details below with great interest, won’t you?
This Sunday night, December 14 at 9pm, Big News, Los Angeles’ longest-running news-based sketch comedy show, celebrates six years of laughs at the pitfalls and foibles of the famous and powerful with our landmark 300th show! Joining us for this special occasion is our good friend, Emo Philips!
So stop by iO West this Sunday night at 9 for a brand-new collection of sketches based on the events of the previous seven days. At only $5 for a full night of comedy, and with the drink specials at Hollywood’s friendliest bar, you can have a great night out even if you’ve cleaned out your savings to buy an Illinois Senate seat!
Your ticket gets you into to all shows at iO West that night.
Big News Episode 300
Starring Christopher Biewer, Kipleigh Brown, George Caleodis, Bailee Desrocher, Neil Garguilo, Michael Hughes, Jason Kelley, Melissa Okey, Artemis Pebdani, Ray Stakenas and Phillip Wilburn
Written by Kristina Adelmeyer, Christopher Biewer, Matt Blitz, Brandon Burkhart, Shawn Carlow, Dwayne Colbert, Erich Eilenberger, Adam Fisher, Julia Gaudette, John Hallmann, Michael Hughes, Michael S. King, Gregg Lopez, Matt Manser, Jason McClain, Shanon Muir, Andrew Orvedahl, Dan Reber, Tom Repetto, Howie Scheer, Emese Simm, Peter Soby Jr., Hayley Terris-Feldman, Aydrea ten Bosch, Niilo Tippler, Justin Vestal, Scott Weitz, Ron West and Phillip Wilburn
Directed by Ron West
iO West
Sunday, December 14
9-10pm
$5
Valet Parking/Full Bar/21+
A Modest Proposal: Shooting Down Prop 8
We’ve only got a month and change left of Busted Old Joint until we inaugurate the New Hotness, so it’s time to start thinking in a new paradigm and last month’s California election controversy is a perfect way to begin.
The passage of Prop 8 exposed the weakness of the argument for it and strength of the case against it: in the end, gay marriage becomes a civil rights issue. The ban on interracial marriage was struck down on the same basis, and so it will be for gays and lesbians. It’s just a matter of time before the hypocrisy of the ban is exposed and unsupportable on a legal basis.
But who wants to wait for members of one more anti-gay generation to die out and stop voting, especially when bigots continue to raise little baby bigots? [By the way, watch for the new child-rearing Baby Bigot DVDs coming soon, featuring episodes like "Neighborhood Animals That Are White" and "My First Hood".]
No, why wait for evolution when you can make revolution?!
If legalizing gay marriage is a civil right, then we have to pool together all the groups who also fight for their civil rights and put up some real numbers for courts and Congress to confront. In this case, I have the perfect rights co-defendant for gay marriage: the NRA.
Is there a group who demands more respect be paid to their civil and Constitutional rights than gun owners? Not on your Remington 870, bub! So as long as they’re gunning for personal freedom from legislative shackles, let’s link up these partners in protest in support of the same legal principles which neither can deny.
You want the right to buy a Glock 17 for your teenage son Billy? Fine, but you have to sign-off on the marriage license for Ted and Steve at the shop before you get your gat.
Tired of those annoying three-day waiting periods for Big Brother’s background check? Fair enough, then expedite the long-delayed marital union of Clarissa and Sally by slapping your signature on the line that is dotted. Maybe they’d like a gift wrapped box of double-ought cartridges while you’re at it?
Hey, if you’re truly fighting for civil rights as a Constitutional imperative, then you’ve got to box all twelve rounds! To do any less would imply that some rights are less equal than others, and if anyone aims that theory at gun owners, the wrath of Charlton Heston shall be visited upon them faster than you can perforate a Deer Crossing sign.
There is strength in numbers, and with such a stalwart crowd as the NRA championing the unalienable rights and freedom of Americans, what better friend could gays and lesbians have? Keep the Government out of our gun racks and bedrooms! You can have our wedding rings when you pry them from our cold dead hands! If marriage is illegal, only criminals will have weddings!
Come on, sport hunters and target shooters, let’s get some pump-action enforcement of the Constitution today and stand up for the rights of your fellow citizens with both barrels blazing. Ready, aim, wed!
Recession-proof fun at Big News this Sunday!
See BIG NEWS every Sunday at the IO West in Hollywood
It’s official – we’re in a recession! So if you need a pick-me-up from the breadlines and bank failures, stop by iO West this Sunday night at 9 for an all-new edition of Big News, Los Angeles’ longest-running sketch comedy show! As always, the Big News cast presents a brand-new collection of sketches based on the events of the previous seven days. Plus a special appearance by Danny Ricker and Adam Fisher!
And at only $5 for a full night of comedy, and the drink specials at Hollywood’s friendliest bar, you can have a great night out without breaking what’s left in the bank! Your ticket gets you into to all shows at iO West that night, so stay and enjoy an all-new Mainstage Sketch Show at 10 and Viral Video Night at 11!
(Rick Overton was originally supposed to perform tonight but had to reschedule.)
Big News Episode 298: Recession Proof
Starring Christopher Biewer, Kipleigh Brown, George Caleodis, Sean Cowhig, Jimmy Guidish, Jason Kelley, Gregg Lopez, Melissa Okey, Artemis Pebdani, Tammie Smalls and Phillip Wilburn
Special Appearance by: Danny Ricker and Adam Fisher
Written by Jed Alexander, Tommy Bechtold, Tom Becker, Matt Blitz, Brandon Burkhart, Shawn Carlow, Dwayne Colbert, Tammy Connors, Jenn Demski, Mark Dorsey, Erich Eilenberger, John Faga, Adam Fisher, John Hallmann, Matt Hanley, Jeff Hawkins, Michael Hughes, Michael S. King, Gregg Lopez, Matt Manser, Matt Mondlock, Andy Nordvall, Melissa Okey, Andrew Orvedahl, Rick Paulas, Dan Reber, Tom Repetto, Danny Ricker, Howie Scheer, Emese Simm, Peter Soby, Aydrea ten Bosch, Niilo Tippler, Scott Weitz, and Ron West
Directed by Michael Hughes
iO West
Sunday, December 7
9-10pm
$5
Valet Parking/Full Bar/21+
Pardon me, but Big News is served this Sunday
See BIG NEWS every Sunday at the IO West in Hollywood
BIG NEWS is back this Sunday night at the IO West in Hollywood, serving up a heaping helping of news and pop culture satire carved straight from this week’s headlines! IO favorite Nick Armstrong guest stars with our fantastic cast for a double-dip of sketch comedy goodness, so save room for extra hilarity.
Ripe for the picking by the writers, expect some send-ups of turkey pardons and auto industry bail outs on the menu, with the Big News Medley of the week putting a cherry on top of it all.
So open wide and stick this invitation in your Facebook and chew 32 times for proper digestion, then belly up to the IO West Sunday night for a gourmet feast of comedy that’s always fresh, never frozen!
And now, a moment of shameless self-promotion
When I’m not skewering and smacking around politicians and pop culture here at The Weitz Paper, one of my other interests is the creative history of Disney theme parks, Walt’s original Disneyland in Anaheim to be specific. I don’t get to spend much time in this leisure pursuit, since I have almost no leisure time at all by now. But I still dabble on occasions.
One of these occasions recently got published in a forthcoming book by enthusiastic collector and chronicler of the Golden Era of Disney creative talent, Didier Ghez. Quite a while ago, Didier was kind enough to contact me through my largely archival website, Etixland, which was created and grew out of my lifelong delight of Disneyland.
As such a fan, I was lucky enough to meet up with one of the legendary Disney Imagineers, X Atencio, the show writer/songwriter/animator who helped create some of Disneyland’s greatest E-ticket attractions including The Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion among many others. Travel around this planet and you’ll find people who will join you in a rousing chorus of Yo Ho, Yo Ho, A Pirate’s Life for Me, even those who have never visited those buccaneers of Anaheim — that’s how Atencio’s work has permeated American pop culture and helped define theme park entertainment.
I’ve gotten a good deal of support and nice comments from those inside and outside the Mouse, and Didier was kind enough to join that list and write to me about my interview with X. Didier asked if he could include my interview with Mr. Atencio in a future volume of his book series, Walt’s People
Walt's People Volume 7
My 2002 interview with X Atencio is but one chapter in this nearly 400-page volume featuring great visits with many other Disney legends including Clarence Nash, Bill Tytla, Jim Macdondald, Harry Tytle, Milt Kahl to name only a few.
It’s a cracking-good read for any Disney fan and, as always, best because the ’story’ is told by those who lived and worked with Walt every day, personal witnesses to a true innovator of the 20th Century. For me, X Atencio remains an inspiration and a personal hero for his own innovations in helping create the template for these theme park marvels of imagination and magical illusion. I’m indeed lucky he chose to share with me his experiences on forging the stamp of E-ticket attractions, and I’m very glad to share those stories with all fans of his work everywhere.
Currently Walt’s People Volume7 is available to order through Xlibris — and naturally makes a fantastic holiday gift for the Disney/theme park/ride afficionado/literate reader nearest you. Through Xlibris the book is only available for order in the U.S. currently, but that will change quickly when it becomes available through Amazon soon, and I’ll amend this post with a link to it there.
And while this may be a shameless plug of self-promotion, rest assured I don’t make a dime from the book sales. I just want to spread the word to like individuals who I know will enjoy reading it and learning more about some fascinating people who inhabited Walt’s circle once upon a time.
The political send-ups and satirical snarkiness now resumes as regularly scheduled!
