Yes I do, but thank you for confusing your own opinion with objective fact. But whatever. Just because my opinion is not the same as yours does not mean I 'have no clue about comedy or anything else', as you put it. I have never understood the impulse some people have to personally attack others merely for the sin of holding a different opinion.
Yeah don't sweat Nero. I agree with your take. I see it like copyright law. You can't restrict a person's use of an idea or situation but they should refrain from using another comedian's artistic expression of an idea or situation. It's like you can't copyright the use of wizards generally, but you can restrict one's use of a teenage wizard with a lightening scar on his forehead. That was one person's artistic expression of a concept. I believe the more generalized the expression, the less protection. The same goes for a joke. If you have a funny unique anecdote, that deserves great protection. However generally jokes on say politics generally, deserve less protection and therefore are thus, more "fair game."
This is the first time I got a text to proceed to the BBS immediately. I'll make this short because I'm in San Antonio about to hit the stage to do something that someone else has done. Originality in comedy begins with who you are as a performer. The difference between a person who is funny at the office and someone who pays a mortgage with their talent is having the courage prove to people over and over again that you are either the funniest or most interesting person in the room. Having said that, there is the long route that will take a comedian through hundreds of open mics and non paying gigs to ultimately earn a paycheck based on your ideas and the way you present them. Then there is the short route... This method will motivate you steal the ideas of people who have already busted their asses for little to no money in order to establish enough of a voice to get noticed in the first place. Joke theft is not new in comedy. Some people justify with "the futants" logic in that all material is basically something recycled from something else. Comedy pieces are like diamonds, they may look alike with the naked eye but every true artist possess the ability to create something that may look the same on the surface but is brilliant and unique in it's own right. But the work has to be done. I have seen arguments, fights and know of one shooting death because of joke theft. We take it really seriously. Finally, in his defense Carlos Mencia had a reputation for stealing material but I have done dates with him and watched him to several pretty lengthy sets without repeating one joke. It's been proven that he's stolen material which is unfortunate because he certainly doesn't have to. I hope this helps OP.
you have officially lost any and all credibility you had with me. bill hicks was a prophet. the jimi hendrix of comedy - dennis leary was in operation dumbo drop. AB, you are a professional - please set this "nero" person straight!
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I use stand up comedians' jokes all the time on my friends. Sometimes I use Dane Cook's because none of my friends listen to him. I've even used Russell Peters with 100% success rate.
So the delivery and performance are what makes the comedian.. Spoiler <object style="height: 390px; width: 640px"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/utrvNbTpHSA?version=3&feature=player_detailpage"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/utrvNbTpHSA?version=3&feature=player_detailpage" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="360"></object>
This to me is a perfect example of how a basic idea for a joke can be thought of independently leading one to think that the joke was stolen. If it's a common joke that Raiders fans are thugs and criminals, is it really that hard to come up the idea of 46000 criminals released would help Raiders football attendance? Amy Winehouse died... Well, I guess she should have gone to rehab... How many people independently came up with that? If Leno had delivered the joke verbatim then that would be one thing.
Gottfried is a comedic god. Infallible. I see it mentioned in the Wiki link above, but Hicks had a joke about an obscure jogging author/advocate dying of a massive heart attack, still young, but drug addict Keith Richards is hitting old age. Years later, Leary had a joke in his breakout special about the same obscure jogging author/advocate dying of a massive heart attack, still young, but drug addict Keith Richards is hitting old age. One example of many. Leary is a thief. A better actor, yes, but he's a thief. No gray area there.
Stealing material happens all the time, I heard Robin Williams used to go incognito to see open mic to get material, because once you do it on the big stage, it is attributed to yours. It is theft, same as Beyonce stealing BC Jean's song......happens all the time.... DD
I thought he gave up his show? He was hilarious in his ability to stir up the phone in folks with all his voices etc. DD
Came back on a few years ago. Funnier than ever. He's on 1370 in Austin....from 1am to 4am..... I subscribe to his website so I can listen any time I want.
I wish I were more open-minded, but... This just may be the worst opinion I've ever read on the internet. (Sorry, Nero. I'm just in shock...)
That's what I think. There is one thing about stealing an joke that is longer and more detailed...there is something else to use a classic one liner from an all time great. I especially think this since it's Gilbert
I'm so glad this was finally released on DVD. My VHS copy (ca. 1989/90) has long been destroyed due to over use.
Look. For you guys who deify people like Hicks, more power to you. But I just could not stand the guy. Now I love me some comedians, I like a lot of different ones, there is a wide wide range out there of what tickles my funny bone. Key word there being 'funny'. I have noticed over the years that there is a certain type of 'comedy fan' who ends up being more like a sycophant than a fan. You have 'fans' of people like Carlin and Hicks who hold them up as some kind of social 'prophet' as someone here already said. That's fine, those types of 'comedians' can be your 'prophets' if you want, but just because you zealously revere every word they ever spoke, that does not make them *FUNNY*. George Carlin can talk all day about destroying golf courses so they can build housing for the poor, and there is a certain segment of the population which will eat that stuff up, but it's just not very funny. Bill Hicks delighted in *****ting on other peoples' beliefs, among other things. To me, he never seemed like anything more than a vicious, bitter, depressed misanthrope. He was extremely mean-spirited, and I just don't like 'comedians' like that - I do not find them even slightly funny. It's just my own taste. If people take that to mean a lack of 'credibility' (whatever THAT is supposed to mean) then fine, whatever. Doesn't bother me at all. I just cannot bring myself to like, or even find funny, those types of guys who use meanness and viciousness as their primary tools in trade. That's why I cant stand Stanhope, and I really really have a hard time with Louis CK, because of some of the horrifically unacceptable things he has said (which is a shame, because he is actually a really funny guy, if only he would learn to shut his pie hole in certain situations).
