ASPEN, Colo. -- Comedians might indeed be among the most insecure people on the planet, but at the sixth annual U.S. Comedy Arts Festival, they found warmth and comfort in each other's company.
Jerry Lewis, sipping red wine onstage at the ballroom of the St. Regis Hotel on Saturday, spoke in public for the first time about the rift in his partnership with Dean Martin. He called Martin "the most underrated performer in the history of show business" and said the breakup was due to him getting most of the credit for their act. "I couldn't let him take it anymore; I feel like I'm still doing penance."
Later that evening, moderator Eric Idle dealt with the drug-addled, go-go '80s days of Robin Williams, who was being honored with the AFI Star Award. Inspired by the snowy Aspen locale, Williams launched into a series of cocaine jokes, but the shtick included a heavy dose of honesty. "Eventually why I really stopped was I was about to have a son," Williams said. "And I realized I didn't want to be, like, "Hi, daddy really loves you. Want to get up and play with me now? Here's a switch, daddy's going to throw up on you."
Only Elaine May avoided getting too personal the night before during a USCAF career tribute to her comedy partnership with Mike Nichols. When asked by Tom Smothers from the audience if they slept together, May retorted "Yes we did, or we didn't."
While not downplaying the heavy star quotient of years past, fest co-executive director Stu Smiley (with Brian Murphy) pointed to this year's high level of "sophistication and artistry." He said comedians "are using the festival as a place to work, but they have also solidified the event's position in the industry."
With super agents and managers like Mike Ovitz and Bernie Brillstein among the 1,500 industryites in attendance, and network bigwigs like Stu Bloomberg, co-chairman of ABC Entertainment, Comedy Central's Larry Divney and much of the top brass of HBO, which films the event for a TV special, Aspen was ground zero for many of the young talents looking for big breaks.
While there was plenty of executive muscle to go around, actual signings were few. Many of the approximately 75 performers on hand were looking to get cast in a sitcom, or to have their material developed into a series or variety special. But as has happened in the past, much of what gets consummated in Aspen -- very little compared with Montreal's annual comedy fest in the summer -- has been gestating for some time prior to the event.
One prominent casting director felt that the festival "pushes the talent to the next level before they're ready," and that many of the performers she scouted were like "eggs that needed to spend a little more time in the incubator."
Added Pat Tourk Lee, who with John Moffit is co-executive producer of USCAF: "There was a lot of interest and a few offers, but nothing concrete. I'm sure we'll be hearing about some things in the next few weeks."
Perhaps the most significant signing had to do with the fest's burgeoning Film Discovery showcase, which was in its second year. Pop.com, the new Internet co-venture between DreamWorks and Imagine Entertainment, inked its first film deal by acquiring Taz Goldstein's 21-minute film, "The Dancing Cow." Indie production outfit Alter Rock Films also extended its deal with HBO for 10 more episodes of its Actual Jokes series, a compendium of short films, three of which premiered in the fest's film program.
The sudden thirst for short films by dot.com companies was in full swing at Aspen, with such Web site concerns as Warner Bros. Online, iCAST, DEN.Net and fest sponsor Excite trolling for talent and content.
For the most part, the live performance events were well attended, with a few exceptions. "There were some of the smaller theater pieces where the attendance was a bit sparse," Lee said, "but that was because the venue, like the Wheeler Opera House, was too big." One venue that was added this year was the Red Brick building, which accommodated 700 but was bulging at the seams for the Williams and Nichols/May tributes. The group standup programs, where handlers are looking for the next Jerry Seinfeld or Roseanne Barr, were very popular, while Detroit comedy troupe The Otha Level, Greg Proop's Alternative Hour and Eve Ensler's "The Vagina Monologues" seem to have generated the most buzz.
The jury-awarded honors turned out to be a triumph for women, with Maureen Cassidy winning the best sketch/alternative performance comedy award for "The Little Loud Girl," best one-person show kudo went to Sarah Jones for "Surface Transit," Ensler won the theater jury kudo for "Monologues," and Candy Ford won for best standup comedy.
While the morning offerings of the film program suffered somewhat by low turnout, with showbiz players preferring the slopes (or simply sleep) to a darkened theater, Lee was upbeat about a program that was only in its second year. "Barry Levinson, who gave out the jury awards, lent the program a boost of credibility," she said.
Winners of the film program awards included Don Scardino's "Advice From a Caterpillar," awarded best feature film, while director honors were shared by actress-turned-filmmaker Adrienne Shelly for "I'll Take You There" and Krsto Papic for "When the Dead Start Singing." Screenwriter award was given to Christopher Livingston and Jaffe Cohen for "Hit & Runway"; Larry Miller won the actor award for "Pros and Cons"; Alicia Witt won the actress award for "Playing Mona Lisa"; and the short film award went to "George Lucas in Love."
Contact Steve Chagollan at
steve.chagollan@variety.com