LA-based comic Ian Karmel has spent the last few years writing alongside James Corden on CBS’ The Late Late Show, the 2017 and 2018 Grammys, and the 2016 Tony Awards. We sat down with the comedian to talk about writing for those award shows, and the challenge of writing late-night jokes in the Trump era.
Last night, James Corden hosted both Zooey Deschanel and John Mulaney in a double interview, and the two guests were able to generate some unforced banter despite the intensity of the format. Deschanel gets in a good anecdote about being part of a creepy “youth pageant,” but Mulaney gets a lot of the best bits, saying…
The Peter Rabbit movie from earlier this year wasn’t great, and that’s not even counting the backlash against a food-allergy scene or the time a screening in Australia mistakenly featured the horrifying Hereditary trailer, but the movie did make a whole bunch of money internationally. In hopes of making even more…
According to Deadline, Showtime has ordered a pilot for an American remake of The Wrong Mans, the 2013 BBC/Hulu action comedy starring Matthew Baynton and James Corden, with J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot studio producing. The original was about two regular guys living in a small town who accidentally get wrapped up in a…
When last we checked in with Strokes and Voidz frontman Julian Casablancas, he was prying open your third eye in an interview with Vulture, during which he radiated the dismissive intellectual superiority of a college freshman who just discovered Howard Zinn. (Actual quote: “Oliver Stone’s The Untold History of the…
Seth and Lauren Rogen’s altruistic variety special, Hilarity For Charity, is coming to Netflix for the first time in its six-year history. The streaming platform and the Future Man executive producer announced the collaboration today along with a stacked lineup. The indefatigable Tiffany Haddish has secured a spot in…
The internet is full of pandering, anti-Trump “comedy,” videos featuring dime-a-dozen, wig-wearing jokesters firing off squinty-eyed impressions and one-liners about, like, kissing Putin, or something. But for too long, none of those videos have ever featured turn-of-the-millennium, lite-reggae hitmaker Shaggy,…
It only takes a few minutes for Peter Rabbit to misunderstand its source material twice. This live action/animated hybrid opens on a group of birds singing a cutesy, vaguely preachy song, only to cut through the treacle with an elbow to the ribs in the form of a chase scene. Peter Rabbit, outlaw hero voiced by…
Because we all used to be with it, but then they changed what “it” was, it’s okay to not be in the know as to the current crop of pop stars. That’s one of the reasons this segment from James Corden’s Late Late Show is so helpful; in it, Corden takes over as the general manager of Inglewood’s The Forum for its…
Presumably in an attempt to capture some of the magic of last year’s performance of the Leonard Cohen classic by Kate McKinnon on SNL, Late Late Show host James Corden and guest Kristen Wiig recently tried their hand at a duet of “Hallelujah.” The solemn and reverent performance started out all right, until they hit…
James Corden is mostly known for having musical fun with celebrities in cars, but he’s had a bit of a rough time lately when trying to have a similar amount of fun with current events. He was photographed kissing Sean Spicer on the cheek at the Emmys in September, a goofy photo-op that he sort of apologized for later,…
The night after the day of the (current) worst mass shooting in American history is a tough fucking room if you’re doing a late-night comedy show. Trevor Noah on The Daily Show, Stephen Colbert on The Late Show, Seth Meyers on Late Night, and the hosts of The Late Late Show With James Corden, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and …
A lot of animated movies for kids are dull and uninspired, but there’s something about the inclusion of a live-action human that makes tired jokes and musical cues slightly more palatable. After all, they made a ton of those Alvin And The Chipmunks movies that everybody loved, but Hollywood only just got around to…
Over the last few years, Chance The Rapper has become one of America’s—and, specifically, Chicago’s—loudest, most tireless advocates for teachers and public schools, raising millions in funding for Chicago-area education and funding numerous programs through his SocialWorks nonprofit.
Art can spring from many motivations. According to director Tony Leondis, The Emoji Movie is “personal.” Central character Gene (T.J. Miller), the inexplicably named “meh” emoji, must go on a journey of self-discovery and learn to accept himself, which chimes with Leondis’s own childhood, growing up gay in a…
On last night’s episode of The Late Late Show, James Corden delivered a short monologue dedicated to the people of Manchester, England following news of the deadly terrorist attack at an Ariana Grande concert in the city. When Corden recorded the message after the taping of his show, details of the incident were still…
James Corden did a by-all-accounts fine job hosting the Grammys this year, proving that he could handle big celebrity musical numbers even without the warm embrace of a luxury sedan. Now, Variety reports that Corden has been invited back for a second shot at the gig, meaning he’ll be hosting the music award show again…
The promotional tour for Bob Odenkirk’s new Netflix film, Girlfriend’s Day, is bearing a surprising amount of comedic fruit for the one-time Mr. Show co-star and current Better Call Saul lead. His Late Show stop found him impersonating host Stephen Colbert in a fake clip for The Late Show: The Movie, while his…
With James Corden taking over for LL Cool J as host (thereby bringing the era of “Big Ole Butt” jokes to a close), the Grammys have just announced which musical acts he’ll bring to the stage. The first round of performers have just been named via press release, and they include Metallica, John Legend, Carrie Underwood…
It looks like another man is going to stink up the set of Gary Ross’ Ocean’s Eight, as Deadline is reporting that Late Late Show host James Corden has joined the cast of the ostensibly female-led spin-off of Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s movies. Matt Damon and Damian Lewis will be in the film as well, with Damon…
