Every great joke has a punch line, and every great humor writer has an arsenal of experiences, anecdotes, and obsessions that were the inspiration for that humor. In fact, those who make a career out of entertaining strangers with words are a notoriously intelligent and quirky lot. And boy, do they have some stories.
In this entertaining and inspirational book, you'll hear from 21 top humor writers as they discuss the comedy-writing process, their influences, their likes and dislikes, and their experiences in the industry. You'll also learn some less useful but equally amusing things, such as:
How screenwriter Buck Henry came up with the famous "plastics" line for The Graduate.
How many times the cops were called on co-writers Sacha Baron Cohen and Dan Mazer during the shooting of Borat.
What David Sedaris thinks of his critics.
What creator Paul Feig thinks would have happened to the Freaks & Geeks crew if the show had had another season.
What Jack Handey considers his favorite "Deep Thoughts."
How Todd Hanson and the staff of The Onion managed to face the aftermath of 9/11 with the perfect dose of humor.
How Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais created the original version of The Office.
What it's really like in the writers' room at SNL.
Funny and informative, And Here's the Kicker is a must-have resource - whether you're an aspiring humor writer, a fan of the genre, or someone who just likes to laugh.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
great book with insight into comedy:
fun, easy to read, simple and informative. a great idea executed with some top comedy minds
Just Brilliant:
It was great here to get an honest, sober account of the comedy writing process from all angles, from screenwriters in any era, to tv writers, to short story writers and novelists, to even cartoonists (Al Jaffee of Mad Magazine is quite awesomely in this book, while an interview with Dan Clowes can be found on the books' website and the kindle edition). I recommend this book to those who enjoy reading about the behind the scenes madcappery of comedy and those involved in it. Along with Steve Martin's "Born... more info
Huge disappointment:
Not even remotely what I expected based on the reviews and cover. I won't be able to turn around and sell it fast enough. I give it two stars only because he at least tried to put a couple of two-page writing advice sections in the book. Other than that, it provides no value unless you are a star-struck fan like the author.
Fantastic.:
A really great read. Fantastic interviews with some really funny comedy writers young and old. It's an essential book for anyone interested in comedy writing.
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