Author: Corey Blake

Corey Blake does things on the Internet, and sometimes even in real life.

My Face on Funny Or Die, and 2 Film Festivals Like Web-Series I Was In

I don’t know if it’s still up this morning, but since Friday or Saturday, my face has been on the front page of Funny Or Die for a political satire video I acted in, Mayer For Mayor, Pt. 1. Craziness.

Here’s a screen capture from writer/director Sam Sero for proof, because as the internet has taught us, pics or didn’t happen.

There I am, right under Stephen Lang. (How many people get to write that sentence?)

Please go watch the video on Funny Or Die and vote ‘Funny’ so we can… win Internet points or something, I guess.

I would embed the video here but apparently Funny or Die and WordPress are rival gangs. If you can’t bear the thought of leaving CoreyBlake.com, fortunately the Poopdog Entertainment team posted the video on YouTube so you can watch it right here:

My fellow Magic Meathands improviser Seth Rotkin is in this too. Yes, there are plans for a Mayer for Mayor, Pt. 2 and possibly more. It seems like maybe there’s some sort of political thing going on for the next 9 months or so that might make this timely. So if you like what you see, please let us know in the comments, share with your friends, and watch it over and over until you’ve memorized the entire thing backwards and forwards. There will be a test.

In other news about me and my face, two film festivals specializing in web-series and online content are particularly fond of a web-series that I appeared in called The Starmind Record. I originally wrote about my appearance in episode 6 and the project here. The Starmind Record is an official selection of both the LA Web Series Festival and the Hollyweb Festival.

If you’re in the LA area and want to check out The Starmind Record on the big screen, the LA Web Series Festival is running the weekend of April 6-8 at the LAX Raddison Hotel (exact screening details to be announced March 20). The Hollyweb Festival will begin screenings on March 9th (exact details should be announced any second now) with an award show on March 31 at the Dim Mak Studios (formerly Cinespace) in Hollywood. Check out the festivals’ websites for more details.

Here’s the episode I’m in, if you missed it the first time around:

Laughter in Triplicates

This month there are three – YES THREE – chances to bring some joy into your life with the Magic Meathands!

This Saturday, March 10, it’s our popular Family Friendly Night with Jump Start Comedy Improv! Both of our groups perform an hour each of fully improvised comedy suitable for people of all ages. Tickets are $7 for adults and $3 for 12 and under. The show starts at 8 PM at the Mary Pickford Studio.

Then next Saturday, March 17, come check out our Tag Team Comedy Show with this month’s special guest, The Callbacks! This is their second time joining forces with us and we’re thrilled to have them back. Once again, tickets are $7 and the show starts at 8 PM at the Mary Pickford Studio.

Then as a bonus this month only, it’s a special second show with Jump Start in their neck of the woods: The 2nd Story Theatre in Hermosa Beach! The show starts at 6:30 PM, tickets are $10.

So there you have it! Three times the funny! All waiting for you!

The above was cross-posted on the Magic Meathands blog. I’ve been a member of the Magic Meathands for over 3 years, performing over 150 shows of improvised comedy. If you’re in the Los Angeles area, give yourself a treat and catch one of our shows.

Caturday: Door Opening Kitteh Edition

Smart kitty!

Meanwhile at The Comics Observer:

  • The LA Times Festival of Books is getting ready for their free event on April 21-22 and comics will get represented, including the five finalists in the Graphic Novel category for the LA Times Book Prizes. Read all about it.
  • From the archives, it’s the 1987 documentary The Masters of Comic Book Art. Read about it (but sadly it’s been removed from YouTube).

Dunkin’ Donuts approaches!

After years of rumors, the Massachusetts-based doughnut and coffee chain Dunkin’ Donuts might finally arrive in Los Angeles!

It’s been theorized that there was some kind of unspoken or unknown agreement between the predominantly east coast Dunkin’ Donuts and North Carolina’s Krispy Kreme chain that they wouldn’t step on each others’ toes. The sugar-dense Krispy Kreme has held California and other west coast areas for years. But it appears Dunkin’ Donuts may instead consider Starbucks their true competitor due to the majority of DD sales coming from coffee instead of donuts, and they are planning on ramping up their store count. And that the real reason they’ve avoided California is because it’s widely considered a largely impenetrable stronghold of independent coffee shops (which doesn’t really explain the obscene proliferation of Starbucks or the reasonably health of Coffee Bean, an LA-based chain). Whatever the case, it appears the lay of the land is about to change.

As a Massachusetts transplant now living in Los Angeles, I have considerable nostalgia for Dunkin’ Donuts. I remember my father coming home after getting the Sunday morning paper with a “surprise” box of donuts for all of us. Sunday comics and a donut or five are a great way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon. My east coast friends on Facebook tell me Dunkin’ Donuts ain’t what it used to be. Truth be told, it was seldom amazing. But it was the right kind of good. Mix with a dash of homesick memories, and you’ve got success waiting to happen. And Los Angeles is full of transplants.

So where is Dunkin’ Donuts opening in California first? Los Angeles? San Francisco? How about… Camp Pendleton. Yes, that’s right. According to the Boston Business Journal, the Marine Corps base located in the northwestern corner of San Diego County is where it’ll all start. Or it could just be the first one we know about, because according to this interview, they are definitely eying California in their plan to double their store count and become a global fast food chain now that they’ve gone public.

Of course, usually that kind of expansion leads to a drop in quality. Nostalgia can only distort reality so much.

(via LAist and LA Snark)

Too Many Ideas, Too Little Time

As I’m looking through the catalog of RiffTrax, the online continuation of the hilarious Mystery Science Theater 3000 TV show from the ’90s that so brilliantly snarked through bad movies, and wondering if I could set up regular private viewing parties, the title of this blog occurs to me. And not for the first time.

Having an idea doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a good idea, but it feels like a good idea for at least a little while. And regardless of the quality, random ideas of new projects are always imposing themselves on me. If I didn’t have a day job, three or four websites, and a few career aspirations on the side, I could probably do quite a few of them. But I know that I would just fill that new free time with more projects, and I’d be right back to where I am now.

Maybe my Rifftrax viewing party idea will be realized, maybe it’s the seed of a future idea, or maybe it dies here and now. That initial burst of an idea sure is exciting. It’s like that first blush of new love. It’s like the anticipation of Christmas morning. It’s the hope of a new beginning. It’s that feeling of untapped potential you feel when you hear an undiscovered band that you just know will be as big as The Beatles one day.

OK sure, the survival rate of sperm is higher than the odds of an idea coming to fruition, but creativity can’t be denied. It’s our most valuable commodity. So dream on! And even try to make a few of them come true.

Ideas racing to reality - which will survive?

Oh and let me know if you ever want to come over and watch Mike Nelson point out how a lot of movies are pretty ridiculous.

Oops… Things Change Fast on the Internet

So yesterday I teased the debut of a new column by Dig Comics director Miguel Cima at The Comics Observer. It’s still coming! But I decided to push it back to Friday so that a post could go up today about a comics conference (or colloquium, as they’re calling it) about race and comics that’s happening tomorrow.

Because my bandwidth is stretched pretty thin these days, I’m just not able to make The Comics Observer one of those high-volume sites with 5-10 posts a day. Maybe some day but not right now. So bear with me as I juggle when things come up.

It’ll be worth the wait. Miguel’s column should make for good weekend reading and debating.

Dig Comics director Miguel Cima speaks out

I’m very excited to announce the launch of a new column at The Comics Observer starting tomorrow. Director/writer/host of the award-winning documentary Dig Comics, Miguel Cima, will be contributing a new installment every month, where he’ll be looking at what excites him about the art form found in comic books and graphic novels, and what he feels is holding it back. He starts off with a doozy where he challenges readers and publishers alike to step up.

Disclaimer: I helped produce the two Dig Comics shorts that can be seen on DigComics.com, and continue to serve as a consultant and more as we talk with production companies to launch a TV series, feature-length film or web-series. To follow our progress and join in the crew’s comics discussions, check out the Dig Comics Facebook page.

Caturday: Sponge Loving Kitteh Edition

I love the reaction shot at the very end.

There’s a Magic Meathands show tonight where we’re teaming up with the improv group In Rare Form. One of our fans loves both of our groups, so he conspired to get us to perform together on the same night. See? Dreams do come true!

At The Comics Observer:

This Saturday’s Tag Team Comedy Show with In Rare Form

Our monthly Tag Team Comedy Show features us pairing with a different improv comedy act. This time, we’re hitting the stage of the Mary Pickford Studio with In Rare Form. Like us, they have been performing at M.i.’s Westside Comedy Theater recently, as well as venues in Burbank, Hollywood and beyond.

The show starts at 8 PM. Tickets are $7. Don’t miss it! RSVP on Facebook.

The above was cross-posted on the Magic Meathands blog. I’ve been a member of the Magic Meathands for nearly 3 years, performing well over 100 shows of improvised comedy. If you’re in the Los Angeles area, give yourself a treat and catch one of our shows.

The Day Job Revealed

Even when I’m in a company video, I can’t be normal.