A million years ago, I quit doing stand up comedy as a side hustle to pursue sketch comedy as a side hustle. My bit-part acting turned into writing which turned into producing and, eventually, Artistic Directing, Directing, and Executive Producing a very popular (in NYC) stage show called Live On Tape.
All three big networks (remember them?) noticed the buzz we were getting and came to see us. NBC ended up buying the show and we produced a bunch of episodes that now sit on a shelf in a vault deep in Rockefeller Center and are being saved for “a special occasion.”
Until that mythical time comes, here are some highlights from the series.
Live On Tape :: TV Series
Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday The 13th :: Film
I arrived in LA on a Tuesday. On Thursday, my writing partner and I met with a film producer. On Friday, we had a contract to write a teen horror parody. A month later, we delivered a script I’m still proud of. A year later, we were in production. It was a bit of a dream come true. Unfortunately, the film didn’t turn out very well for a number of reasons. Buy me a beer and I’ll gladly vent for a few hours. And yes, while it currently sits at 14% on Rotten Tomatoes, it has also developed a bit of a cult following in the last few years. So there’s that. If you watch closely, and I do not recommend that you do, I appear around minute 21 in the pivotal role of death row inmate Jimmy Boner. For the record, we made ours before Miramax did Scary Movie.
The Lost Episode (AKA Pennhurst) :: Film
“Hey Joe, we’ve got a bit of money and an abandoned mental hospital at our disposal. Would you mind writing us a horror film?”
“I’d be delighted to.”
Those might not be the exact words used, but they’re pretty darn close. And that’s what I did.