DELRAY BEACH – Television writers and, now, actors are on strike in large part to ensure A.I. doesn’t steal their jobs.
Comedians don’t seem as worried.
Today’s Stand-Up Spotlight features two stories about stand-up comedians who don’t fear losing their jobs to computers – though there is some concern about A.I. learning to copy their styles.
There’s also news that actress Jena Malone is giving stand-up comedy a try. And, in time for the weekend, one person’s list of times comedians expertly worked heavy metal music or bands into their routines.
Rock on while keeping it funny this weekend.
STAND-UP SPOTLIGHT – July 14, 2023
Comedians laugh off AI’s effect on stand-up: ‘Like eating processed foods’
“I heard one AI thing where Tom Brady’s voice was doing stand-up about s— himself, and it was hilarious in a way that really concerned me,” recalls Rosebud Baker. “On the other hand, it makes all these specials with comedians crying at the end make a lot more sense.”
The Tom Brady stand-up that the “Saturday Night Live” writer refers to is a viral video called “It’s Too Easy!” generated by the “Dudesy” improv podcast, a series run on the backs of AI plus co-hosts Will Sasso and Chad Kultgen. The “Simulated Hour-Long Stand-Up Comedy Special” about the football star’s career was removed from platforms after Brady threatened a lawsuit in April.
THE LAST LAUGH: How comedians plan to turn the tables on AI scraping their material
After comedian Sarah Silverman joined a lawsuit against OpenAI and Meta for allegedly using her content to train their bots without permission, one comic told Fox News ChatGPT does not pose a threat to him.
“In terms of how ChatGPT affects comedy, yes, I think we’re going to enter the golden age of in-print comedians, meaning people who can type things on the internet,” said Jimmy Failla, comedian and host of “Fox Across America” on Fox News Radio and Fox Nation.
“But where true performers and people with actual charisma and comedic wherewithal will always flourish is no one’s going to show up to a comedy club and buy a two-drink minimum to stare at a laptop, typing out words, or even saying those words through some Bluetooth audio,” he continued. “So I don’t necessarily feel threatened by it.”
Jena Malone Faces Her ‘Number One Fear’ as She Marks Her ‘First Real Show’ as a Stand-Up Comedian
Jena Malone is branching out.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire actress, 38, shared Wednesday on social media that she would be taking the stage for her first-ever stand-up comedy routine that night.
“I’ve been in bucket list mode and stand up comedy has been my number one fear for a good long time. I wasn’t gonna tell any one yet,” Malone wrote. “But here I go 730pm at the federal bar in north Hollywood tonight. My first real show ❤️❤️.”
10 times stand-up comedians made brilliant references to heavy metal
Stand-up can be stultifyingly glib and often retreads familiar ideas, yet the general public lap it up. The fact that Michael McIntyre’s Magnificent tour will be doing multiple nights at arenas in the UK is testament to this. But if you’re a stand-up and casually reference metal in any shape or form during your set, you will have our attention. And if it’s done with sincerity, then you may have our blackened hearts too.
Here are 10 moments where comedians made some excellent observations about the worlds of metal and rock.
