Believe it or not, we are trying our hardest here at Flavorpill HQ to stop feeding the Lana Del Rey fire. But we can’t just ignore this brilliant Suzanne Collins/LDR mash-up from Holly Laurent of Second City. In Lana Del Rey’s “Hunger Games,” Laurent replaces the lovelorn words to “Video Games” with verses on Katniss and company, giving us such brilliant couplets as, “Heard you haven’t finished book three/ Honey, when you do…” The visual element, which replaces Del Rey’s pastiche with overexposed shots of retro-futurist landscapes, stinky fish, and early footage from The Hunger Games movie, is also spot on. We especially like that Laurent’s mini-bouffant reminds us more of Snooki than Lana.
Inside TV is exclusively reporting that Saturday Night Live star Paul Brittain, who joined the cast back in September 2010 with Taran Killam, Vanessa Bayer, and Jay Pharoah, is leaving the show effective immediately; according to a source close to the actor, he “had the opportunity to pursue other projects,” and the split was totally amicable.
Given how well life has been treating recently-banished cast members like Casey Wilson (who went on to star in ABC’s Happy Endings) and Jenny Slate (who gave birth to Marcel the Shell), we’re looking forward to seeing what Brittain’s got up his sleeve. Perhaps it’s time to put that spot-on Draco Malfoy impression to good use? It was pretty perfect. We could also see picture him finding success in an off-off-Broadway musical about Ron Paul. Or Lord Windemere. Either, really. Are you at all surprised by this news? [via Vulture]
The opportunity to watch Nick Offerman — that is, Parks and Recreation’s Ron Swanson — get dressed up like Toby Keith and sing a vaguely jingoistic country song is just about all we could ask for on a Friday morning. So the fact that we get all that in a duet with Offerman’s funny (real-life and TV) wife, Megan Mullally, that also happens to be about paleontology, creationism, and dragons? Yeah, we’re pretty much in heaven. If you ever wanted to see Ron Swanson in a pale yellow, or hear Tammy II sing, “Darwin was a douche,” then consider your day made. Thanks, College Humor!
Like most people who have experienced one of Improv Everywhere’s crazy “missions,” whether firsthand or through a viral video, we’re huge fans of the New York City-based prank collective; that’s why we’re excited to hear that they’re working on a feature-length documentary that will give viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the group founded by Charlie Todd back in 2002. Which is where you come in: They’re currently trying to raise $125K on Kickstarter in order to help fund the film’s post-production and distribution. There are various exciting prizes to incentivize you to give, but for a contribution of $5,000, you’ll get to participate in one of their upcoming projects as a featured agent. Need a little more convincing? Check out this teaser clip featuring appearances by Aubrey Plaza, Ben Folds, Nick Kroll, and Mad Men’s Rich Sommer after the jump. Read More »
For those of you have been anxiously awaiting its arrival on Funny or Die since last week’s preview, it’s finally here: a very special Drunk History Christmas, which features appearances by Ryan Gosling, Eva Mendes, and Jim Carrey, who does a surprisingly convincing Santa Claus (especially if you’re old enough to remember this). Considering that we had to memorize “The Night Before Christmas” in its entirety back in elementary school, we can totally empathize with comedian Allan McLeod’s valiant struggle with certain lines — especially when it comes to the nearly impossible task of naming all of the reindeer. If you prefer your classic poems delivered with more than a hint of slurring, and the creative addition of a few swear words, click through to get in the holiday spirit now. Read More »
Everyone’s favorite comedian Louis CK dropped by Reddit today to answer some reader questions, and revealed a bunch of really personal stuff, from his favorite bit (“I really liked the duck vaginas joke”) to his least favorite memory (“Probably pissing my pants at school, everyone pointing at the giant stain in the front of my pants and laughing”). If you don’t have the time to tackle the entire thread now, click through for a selection of our favorite highlights. Read More »
Aubrey Plaza. Lizzy Caplan. Megan Mullally. Lake Bell. Casey Wilson. Ellie Kemper. Michaela Watkins. No, this isn’t the cast for Hollywood’s next great, Bridesmaids-style, all-lady ensemble comedy (although we sure wouldn’t mind if it were). It’s the list of comedians who star in a new, five-minute Funny or Die video called “Home for Actresses.” The clip features Mullally as the gray-haired, tea-drinking proprietor of the Peggy Dvorak Institute, where actresses learn “how to be cool, how to not gross people out with your hideous, actress-y personality.” Kemper in particular does a wonderful send-up of herself. Watch the hilarious short — where you’ll learn all about why you need to listen to Nina Simone instead of Ke$ha, date guys with drugs problems, and scorn motherhood — after the jump. Read More »
Last night, Will Ferrell was the 14th funny person to receive the prestigious Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor award. He follows in the footsteps of giants like George Carlin, Tina Fey, and Steve Martin. Audiences enjoyed a retrospective of his career, as well as tributes from a comedian all-star cast, but it was Ferrell’s acceptance speech that won everyone over with his trademark deadpan style. When the Anchorman actor thanked his wife Viveca Paulin for her support, he of course added, “We have a wonderful life together but I do have to say … sometimes you get a little lippy. You’ve got a big mouth and you like to run it.” Who else brought the funny during speech time? Click through for a look back at ten hilarious speeches.
Well, it looks like all of those sessions with Dr. Edna finally paid off — and not just for Betty. The incredibly precocious Kiernan Shipka, aka Mad Men‘s Sally Draper, analyzes an interesting mix of child stars (including Topanga from Boy Meets World) in this hilarious Funny or Die clip. If the last season of the show left you with any doubts about how quickly Shipka is maturing into quite the young actress, watching her expertly navigate this sketch should be all the proof you need.
Twitter is the perfect medium for comedians: It’s quick, text-based, and social, meaning that there’s a potential audience of millions for a great, concise joke. As such, we follow a lot of professional funny people, from Sarah Silverman to Aziz Ansari to Eugene Mirman. But we have found, often to our great surprise, that not all of our favorite comedians are funny on Twitter. Whether they’re saving their material for paying gigs, have other social media concerns outside of entertaining us, or just can’t translate what they do on stage to the Internet, they just aren’t making us laugh. We’ve rounded up ten top offenders after the jump.
