Snob Reviews presents : Snob Talk

by Gianni Fiasche

Stand-up comedy is tough. Everybody says it, but take it from those who perform night after night, club after club and struggle to make it. That is why Just for Laughs has co-produced a brilliant new series for Amazon Prime entitled; Inside Jokes. This raw, intimate and enlightening series takes you on a journey where we follow six up and coming comics who strive to get selected for the Montreal Just for Laughs Festival New Faces showcase. I had the opportunity to speak with JFL President Bruce Hills about the new series, his comedy beginnings and here’s what he had to say:

GF: How did JFL get involved in producing this series and who approached who?

BH: What happened is I got a call from Jimmy Fox who works for a company called All3Media and they had an idea about following break-out comics coming to Montreal which was just the beginnings of an idea. Following that, between the two organizations (JFL / All3Media) we developed the concept together that we should focus on New Faces. We should focus on comics from North America and hopefully if we get renewed we’ll focus on Canada and international territories, but L.A. and New York are a great place to start. They are classic comedy cities, so why not start where a lot of stand-up comedy has come from.

GF: What is JFL’s point-of-view in what it takes to get chosen to perform in New Faces?

BH: I think first and foremost is about how funny they are, it’s about their performance, but it’s largely driven by point-of-view; what is the comedian saying and what separates them from the pact. Is it the subject matter? Is it the approach to the subject matter? We’re looking for original voices.

GF: What are some of the opportunities that come with getting chosen for New Faces?

BH: It’s everything from them getting discovered by more comedy club chains, a couple of late-night bookers and that just leads to a little bit of extra income annually, all the way to super stardom. I say to people all the time, if you do well, your career benefits; how much? That remains to be seen. It could be that it helps pay your mortgage or you could end up on Saturday Night Live. So many SNL cast members have come out of New Faces, and then you have some like Kevin Hart, Ali Wong and Amy Schumer to name a few.

GF: I’d like to switch the focus a little bit and talk about your career with Just for Laughs; how did you get started at the company?

BH: I had some very good fortune at the beginning. I arrived at the organization when it was very small, and I started out as a driver because they needed English speaking people to converse with the comics who were attending. Fast forward to a couple of years later, I was only working part-time; someone asked me if I wanted to work on the PR end of things and soon after that I was asked if I wanted to help out with the programming and start scouting around the U.S.. So by 1988 I was travelling around North America scouting for comics, and then I started to travel to Britain and Edinburgh and I did that for about a decade. In that time I became Director of Programming with many other important people because I am not originator or founder of the festival, so I was lucky to be second English person hired and be able to grow and come in at a really nice time.

GF: When did your love of comedy start?

BH: You know what I bumped into comedy by accident. Growing up I always loved watching SCTV and Monty Python, and I was always looking for a path and I found the entertainment business very interesting. At that time, comedy was mainly a nightclub business and there weren’t many comics who could sell out arenas, let alone theaters and now there are thousands of acts that can sell out venues. Comedy was a little business and I got in at that time and realized that I had a real passion for it and I felt I had a good eye to find important voices. I was lucky enough to help people like Dave Chappelle and Bill Hicks early in their careers that I take great pride in. Now I’ve got a team of phenomenal bookers all developing their own relationship with the next generation of talent because that is what’s so key here, it’s a relationship, it’s a two-way street and that’s the goal.

    Inside Jokes premieres on Amazon Prime Friday, November 30th. If you’re a fan of comedy, this is a must-see series.