Adam McKay's politics...

Hey, my name is Paul Walter Hauser.

I took an Improv class at Piven Theatre in Chicago with Adam McKay.

He is one of my heroes and I had a blast talking to him about how much I loved Anchorman, cause this was before Talladega and shit.

BUT, at the seminar/workshop, he got into a political/religious debate with a bunch of people taking the workshop and it sucked.

I love Adam McKay and his work, but I was totally there for the comedic aspect, and it turned into a Bush bash where everyone sucked each other’s D’s for being Democrats.

I think Bush is a dummy, but I paid money to learn about Improv, not hear how everyone hates the Bible and Republicans.

Bummer. Hope I get a chance to learn elsewhere like SC or IO.

Did you try contacting Adam Mckay in private about your problems with the workshop?? Mr. McKay is obviously very talented and probably a very good guy who might appreciate feedback on his improv classes. I’m really not trying to be a jerk[but at times it is one on my special talents] but I will say this..you sound like you’ve got a pair of brass balls like Alec Baldwin in “Glen Garry Glen Ross”. Boldness in show business is usually good but picking your fights usually works better…..ok I’m thru preaching.

I’m not even really upset with Adam.

I think McKay is awesome, one of the best comedic directors ever, but I wish I would’ve gotten more out of the workshop.

Technically, it was just a one day workshop so it wasn’t like we’d learn a lifetime of improv, but it kind of sucked. Thought it’d be better.

But, at least my money went to a good cause. The Piven family is awesome, and me and my friends continue to give money to the theatre.

Saw Adam and Will at a Talladega screening for Piven Theatre as well and gave them DVD’s of my comedy troupe. I wonder if they ever watched the DVDs,

What is funny is that Sacha Baron Cohen was standing right by me and I didn’t even talk to him cause I didn’t know who the heck it was. Before Borat, mind you.

I always follow the money when I see ads for seminars, workshops, etc especially in the get rich quick schemes. Make millions in real estate, stock market, commodities,precious metals.,etc if you go see so+so and buy tickets, books, dvd’s, newsletters. Scratch the surface and find these “gurus” make most if not all their money off what they sell you and not their special “secret money making formula”. Hollywood is loaded with ads by “experts” ...especially “script consultants” who won’t give you the time of day without money up front and they have no special magic formula…caveat emptor. Dealing with very successfull people who are really not trying to sell or get something from you is hard to top…

My point in the workshop was that there is no such thing as comedy divorced of POV and that the best comedy is comedy that goes right into the storm rather than avoiding conflict or unpopular opinions. This is what made Colbert and Stewart so great. They called Bush on his lies when everyone else was afraid to make waves. And that POV isn’t limited to politics, it applies to absurdity vs realism, audience expectations, performance style, music etc. etc. That was the point of the workshop. That having been said, go to SC and IO. They’re great places. And yes, I watched your DVd. Not bad. But (and I’m not being cute) it could have used more of a POV … Stronger more original choices. But this is all just my opinion and taste and by no means a definitive take so feel free to tell me to go to hell. Mckay

paulwalterhauser said:

I’m not even really upset with Adam.

I think McKay is awesome, one of the best comedic directors ever, but I wish I would’ve gotten more out of the workshop.

Technically, it was just a one day workshop so it wasn’t like we’d learn a lifetime of improv, but it kind of sucked. Thought it’d be better.

But, at least my money went to a good cause. The Piven family is awesome, and me and my friends continue to give money to the theatre.

Saw Adam and Will at a Talladega screening for Piven Theatre as well and gave them DVD’s of my comedy troupe. I wonder if they ever watched the DVDs,

What is funny is that Sacha Baron Cohen was standing right by me and I didn’t even talk to him cause I didn’t know who the heck it was. Before Borat, mind you.

Wow, the fact that you even took the time to respond says a lot about you, so thank you. I appreciate that.

Now that you’ve explained that, I totally get it. That does make sense.

I just was excited to get some improv or comedy tips and what was presented was something different.

Do you think that a comedian NEEDS one specific POV for comedy, or can that comedian bring many POVs to the table? I feel like I do so many different kinds of comedy and make different points in sketches or stand up that I feel undefinable. Carlin and Seinfeld and Rock have their POV and that defines them onstage. Farley was the outrageous physical character guy. Ferrell did oddball, idiosyncratic characters with sometimes warped senses of reality.

I dunno. I’ve done everything from a commercial selling celebrities urine as an energy drink to a sketch about two homosexual/homophobic southern farmers having a put down fight.

Am I doing something wrong? Whaddayou think?

- Paul

Adam McKay said:

My point in the workshop was that there is no such thing as comedy divorced of POV and that the best comedy is comedy that goes right into the storm rather than avoiding conflict or unpopular opinions. This is what made Colbert and Stewart so great. They called Bush on his lies when everyone else was afraid to make waves. And that POV isn’t limited to politics, it applies to absurdity vs realism, audience expectations, performance style, music etc. etc. That was the point of the workshop. That having been said, go to SC and IO. They’re great places. And yes, I watched your DVd. Not bad. But (and I’m not being cute) it could have used more of a POV … Stronger more original choices. But this is all just my opinion and taste and by no means a definitive take so feel free to tell me to go to hell. Mckay

paulwalterhauser said:

I’m not even really upset with Adam.

I think McKay is awesome, one of the best comedic directors ever, but I wish I would’ve gotten more out of the workshop.

Technically, it was just a one day workshop so it wasn’t like we’d learn a lifetime of improv, but it kind of sucked. Thought it’d be better.

But, at least my money went to a good cause. The Piven family is awesome, and me and my friends continue to give money to the theatre.

Saw Adam and Will at a Talladega screening for Piven Theatre as well and gave them DVD’s of my comedy troupe. I wonder if they ever watched the DVDs,

What is funny is that Sacha Baron Cohen was standing right by me and I didn’t even talk to him cause I didn’t know who the heck it was. Before Borat, mind you.

mckay is a reasonable guy. i do not believe that he would be offended if you said something.

Adam McKay said:

My point in the workshop was that there is no such thing as comedy divorced of POV and that the best comedy is comedy that goes right into the storm rather than avoiding conflict or unpopular opinions. This is what made Colbert and Stewart so great. They called Bush on his lies when everyone else was afraid to make waves. And that POV isn’t limited to politics, it applies to absurdity vs realism, audience expectations, performance style, music etc. etc. That was the point of the workshop. That having been said, go to SC and IO. They’re great places. And yes, I watched your DVd. Not bad. But (and I’m not being cute) it could have used more of a POV … Stronger more original choices. But this is all just my opinion and taste and by no means a definitive take so feel free to tell me to go to hell. Mckay

paulwalterhauser said:

I’m not even really upset with Adam.

I think McKay is awesome, one of the best comedic directors ever, but I wish I would’ve gotten more out of the workshop.

Technically, it was just a one day workshop so it wasn’t like we’d learn a lifetime of improv, but it kind of sucked. Thought it’d be better.

But, at least my money went to a good cause. The Piven family is awesome, and me and my friends continue to give money to the theatre.

Saw Adam and Will at a Talladega screening for Piven Theatre as well and gave them DVD’s of my comedy troupe. I wonder if they ever watched the DVDs,

What is funny is that Sacha Baron Cohen was standing right by me and I didn’t even talk to him cause I didn’t know who the heck it was. Before Borat, mind you.

well, i have seen situations like this before. right or wrong, mckay is one of the best directors out there. maybe there was a reason he was talking about that stuff…

paulwalterhauser said:

Hey, my name is Paul Walter Hauser.

I took an Improv class at Piven Theatre in Chicago with Adam McKay.

He is one of my heroes and I had a blast talking to him about how much I loved Anchorman, cause this was before Talladega and shit.

BUT, at the seminar/workshop, he got into a political/religious debate with a bunch of people taking the workshop and it sucked.

I love Adam McKay and his work, but I was totally there for the comedic aspect, and it turned into a Bush bash where everyone sucked each other’s D’s for being Democrats.

I think Bush is a dummy, but I paid money to learn about Improv, not hear how everyone hates the Bible and Republicans.

Bummer. Hope I get a chance to learn elsewhere like SC or IO.

Just try to deal with people who don’t have a hidden agenda. People who aren’t trying to sell or get something from you is a good place to start. Networking is very important but don’t forget.. caveat emptor. Being a little naive is helpfull because if people knew what they were getting into, they probably wouldn’t do what they are doing…..god am I full of it or what?..get a shovel..

Wow. That was pretty important.

Adam McKay said:

My point in the workshop was that there is no such thing as comedy divorced of POV and that the best comedy is comedy that goes right into the storm rather than avoiding conflict or unpopular opinions. This is what made Colbert and Stewart so great. They called Bush on his lies when everyone else was afraid to make waves. And that POV isn’t limited to politics, it applies to absurdity vs realism, audience expectations, performance style, music etc. etc. That was the point of the workshop. That having been said, go to SC and IO. They’re great places. And yes, I watched your DVd. Not bad. But (and I’m not being cute) it could have used more of a POV … Stronger more original choices. But this is all just my opinion and taste and by no means a definitive take so feel free to tell me to go to hell. Mckay

paulwalterhauser said:

I’m not even really upset with Adam.

I think McKay is awesome, one of the best comedic directors ever, but I wish I would’ve gotten more out of the workshop.

Technically, it was just a one day workshop so it wasn’t like we’d learn a lifetime of improv, but it kind of sucked. Thought it’d be better.

But, at least my money went to a good cause. The Piven family is awesome, and me and my friends continue to give money to the theatre.

Saw Adam and Will at a Talladega screening for Piven Theatre as well and gave them DVD’s of my comedy troupe. I wonder if they ever watched the DVDs,

What is funny is that Sacha Baron Cohen was standing right by me and I didn’t even talk to him cause I didn’t know who the heck it was. Before Borat, mind you.

this is too cool! can’t believe adam responded with such a cordial and informative response…i think the bit about making absurdity vs. realism and audience expectations (especially mentioning music) is a great little nugget of wisdom for anyone trying to analyze what makes some of the funniest things in film funny. i’m sure mckay is a busy dude so kudos to him for taking the time to browse these forums and get a dialogue going.

Yeah, I was pretty surprised too.

A lot of these Second City people have a higher learning of comedy and always challenge comedy to figure out what is behind it all.

I’m a more “on the surface” type of guy, coming from simpler humor. I remember trying to make this all improvised movie with a SC guy and he kept going back to story structure. I felt like an idiot and a jackass. I kept saying shit like “Yeah, lets make it funny.”

Oh well. I doubt David Koechner or Chris Tucker or Nick Swardson dig deep in their comedy, but they are awesome. Maybe I don’t either dig deep either. I don’t effin know.

This is an interesting discussion. I’m primarily a writer and on the rare occasion I can convince a development exec to read my work, I sometimes get the note that I should get rid of my personal POV. Sometimes this means they think I should rewrite a screenplay to their POV rather than my own. But I feel that a lack of POV in screenplays makes the film more bland.

Then again, the notes you get from one person may completely contradict the next notes you get. I got a rejection from a manager last week who said my screenplay was too dirty—that my project should be a four quadrant family film. That’s his POV that he wants up front, primarily because he sees a PG or PG-13 movie as a bigger moneymaker. A few hours later I got an email from a development exec who said his favorite moment was when the seven-year-old girl called her teacher a “fuckstick.” And that’s not just a funny word for a little girl to say, it’s a character moment that’s central to her family’s POV about authority figures.

Maybe the screenplay doesn’t work for other reasons, but removing POV is death to a writer. You know an Aaron Sorkin or Gary Ross or Trey Parker script by their POV and it’s one of the reasons those writers aren’t bland. Without it you may as well just write software manuals. Of course, the problem with having a strong or even a vague POV is that you have to find others who share a similar POV when you’re trying to sell the project.

I’m rambling now. I haven’t logged onto FOD in a month because I’ve been busy rewriting this screenplay and now I’m rambling endlessly on this thread about my script-selling woes. Sorry, I’ll shut up now and get back to that script.

You’re telling me that if I sign up for an Adam McKay improv class I can bash Republicans and the bible, and get my dick sucked simply for being a Democrat? That sounds like the greatest place ever!

Dick sucked was metaphorical, not literal or physical…

Unlike Piven, I hear Steppenwolf gives good head.

I was not there but sometimes in trying to counter religion being shoved down our throats and that people try to make you feel inferior if you do not follow the religious majority…You in turn give the impression that you are trying to shove the whole protest toward religious majority down THEIR throats. And the circle goes on. I sort of encounter a similar effect like this when I note that, say, the Cannon “Lightmakers” or whatever that promotion was with professional photographers had chosen about 50 men and one woman to showcase in the program. Or if I decide to consciously try to support female producers after reading an article about 15 hot producers, every one being male…I mention the desire to support female media producers and I’m seen as a male “basher” which is not true.

On the other hand, I was invited to one of the filmmakers forums sponsored by Mel Gibson when he was clearly trying to enlist Southern Black religious filmmakers into some form of pro-religious film crew movement/cult by offering help with their film education and production resources for joining their movement to make organized prayer on film sets legal. I was the only Caucasian audience member there (a very good friend invited me) and my last name did not make me popular with the speaker. Now THAT was weird. I wonder if Adam was talking about that because it was just unreal. I’m surprised the media did not pick up on that whole thing. This was before Gibson’s arrest and comment about Jews causing war. It was right before Passion of the Christ was released.