Research Catalog

Title

Poking a dead frog : conversations with today's top comedy writers / Mike Sacks.

Author

Sacks, Mike

Publication

New York, New York : Penguin Books, 2014.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xvii, 453 pages : illustrations; 22 cm

Summary

Amy Poehler, Mel Brooks, Adam McKay, George Saunders, Bill Hader, Patton Oswalt, and many more take us deep inside the mysterious world of comedy in this fascinating, laugh-out-loud-funny book. Packed with behind-the-scenes stories, from a day in the writers room at The Onion to why a sketch does or doesnt make it onto Saturday Night Live to how the BBC nearly erased the entire first season of Monty Pythons Flying Circus? Poking a Dead Frog is a must-read for comedy buffs, writers and pop culture junkies alike.

Subjects

• Interviews
• Anecdotes
• PERFORMING ARTS / Comedy
• HUMOR / Form / Anecdotes
• Comedians > United States > Anecdotes
• Comedians > United States > Interviews
• Stand-up comedy > United States

Genre/Form

• Anecdotes
• Interviews

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

• Machine generated contents note: Interview / James Downey -- Ultraspecific Comedic Knowledge: Writing for Monty Python / Terry Jones -- Pure, Hard-Core Advice / Diablo Cody -- Interview / Mike Schur -- Ultraspecific Comedic Knowledge: Writing a Submission Packet for Late-Night TV / Todd Levin -- Pure, Hard-Core Advice / Andres Du Bouchet -- Interview / Henry Beard -- Ultraspecific Comedic Knowledge: Getting the Details Right / James L. Brooks -- Pure, Hard-Core Advice / Megan Amram -- Interview / Peg Lynch -- Ultraspecific Comedic Knowledge: Writing for Seinfeld / Peter Mehlman -- Pure, Hard-Core Advice / Paul F. Tompkins -- Interview / Adam Mckay -- Ultraspecific Comedic Knowledge: Two Hundred Essential Movies Every Comedy Writer Should See / Bill Hader -- Pure, Hard-Core Advice / Scott Jacobson -- Interview / Bruce Jay Friedman -- Ultraspecific Comedic Knowledge: Writing Jokes for Awards Shows / Bruce Vilanch -- Pure, Hard-Core Advice / Kay Cannon -- Interview / Carol Kolb --
• Contents note continued: Ultraspecific Comedic Knowledge: Choosing Headlines at The Onion / Will Tracy -- Pure, Hard-Core Advice / Gabe Delahaye -- Interview / Glen Charles -- Ultraspecific Comedic Knowledge: Finding an Agent for a TV-Writing Job / Joel Begleiter -- Pure, Hard-Core Advice / Marc Maron -- Interview / George Saunders -- Ultraspecific Comedic Knowledge: Finding a Literary Agent for Your Humor Book / Byrd Leavell -- Pure, Hard-Core Advice / Dave Hill -- Interview / Tom Scharpling -- Ultraspecific Comedic Knowledge: Writing for Radio / Bob Elliott -- Pure, Hard-Core Advice / Amy Poehler -- Interview / Roz Chast -- Ultraspecific Comedic Knowledge: How to Be Funny as a Journalist / Henry Alford -- Pure, Hard-Core Advice / Patton Oswalt -- Interview / Daniel Clowes -- Ultraspecific Comedic Knowledge: Writing Humor for Children / Daniel Handler -- Pure, Hard-Core Advice / Anthony Jeselnik -- Interview / Adam Resnick --
• Contents note continued: Ultraspecific Comedic Knowledge: Writing a TV-Series Bible / Paul Feig -- Pure, Hard-Core Advice / Stephen Merchant -- Interview / Dan Guterman -- Ultraspecific Comedic Knowledge: Working as a Hollywood Script Doctor / Alan Spencer -- Pure, Hard-Core Advice / Mike Dicenzo -- Interview / Mel Brooks -- The End: What Laughter Looks Like / Edward Jessen.

ISBN

• 9780143123781 (paperback)
• 0143123785 (paperback)

LCCN

^^2014005646

OCLC

• 861673741
• SCSB-11176891

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library