Brooke Bunny
Stand-up comedy icons Jerry Seinfeld, Kevin Hart, Amy Schumer, Jamie Foxx, Billy Connolly, Steve Coogan, Cedric The Entertainer, Mike Epps, Eddie Izzard, Jerry Lewis, Chris Rock, Sarah Silverman, Keenen Ivory Wayans and the late, great Garry Shandling, among many others, appear in “Dying Laughing”, which bowed at this year’s Los Angeles Film Festival. Gravitas Ventures has acquired rights to the documentary from filmmakers Paul Toogood & Lloyd Stanton and will release it in theaters and on demand in the first quarter of next year.
A stand-up comedian is his or her own writer, director and star performer. Unlike any other art form, there is no safety net and no private rehearsal. In its singular realization, stand -up comedy thrives live on a stage – often in front of hostile audiences. For most people baring their soul and being heckled would be a life-changing trauma, for stand-ups it’s an every day danger. Directors Paul Toogood & Lloyd Stanton achieve a startling level of intimacy in a series of riveting interviews with many masters of the comedy universe, allowing in-depth access to the emotional and psychological highs and lows of answering the call to become a stand-up comedian.
“Over two years, as the film began to emerge from the thousands of miles traveled and hundreds of hours or interviews, we learned about the physical and emotional dedication that it takes to become a stand-up comedian, and that the prospect of failure haunts even the most experienced and celebrated practitioners,” said co-directors Toogood and Stanton. “We hope that the audience will find the final piece as touching, thought-provoking, inspirational and as funny as we do.”
“It’s rare that we, as fans, get such transparency into this industry from such amazing comedy legends,” said Nolan Gallagher, Founder and CEO of Gravitas Ventures. “This compelling documentary evokes not just laugher, but truly runs the gamut of emotion for the viewer.”
Directors Paul Toogood & Lloyd Stanton have worked with many legends in the past, having created projects ‘Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap’, ‘Songbook’, ‘The Great Songwriters’ and award winning documentaries and films on subjects from football and video gaming to ’30 Years of Monty Python’.
The duo also produced the film alongside producer Suli McCullough and co-producers Samantha Phillips and Daphne Wayans who all helped to add talent. Keith Haviland, Adam Longworth and John Thomson are the Executive Producers.
The deal was negotiated by Nolan Gallagher for Gravitas and ICM Partners on behalf of the filmmakers.
