JUST FOR LAUGHS LAUNCHES THE INSIDER SERIES

JUST FOR LAUGHS LAUNCHES THE INSIDER SERIES
FEATURING KEVIN SMITH, ROB CORDDRY AND JB SMOOVE
AND FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER THE COMICPRO PACKAGE FOR THE ULTIMATE FAN
 
(Montreal – Wednesday, May 19 2010) – Just For Laughs continues to deliver major comedy industry players to its Festival with the creation of the Insider Series - live events featuring casts and show creators. On the slate this year is A Late Afternoon with Kevin Smith, the cast and creators of the upcoming Adult Swim series Childrens Hospital, JB Smoove playing his Curb Your Enthusiasm character in An Evening with Leon Black and Friends, and more programming to be announced shortly. Plus comedy fans are in luck because the Just For Laughs Comedy Conference is opening its doors to fans with COMICPRO – The Just For Laughs Ultimate Fan Package, the public’s first chance to participate in the Comedy Conference events, as well as the first edition of the Insider Series, film screenings, and Zoofest Comedy shows, from July 12 – 18, 2010.
 
THE INSIDER SERIES
If they talked about it at a cast rehearsal, now they’ll talk about it in front of the fans: The Insider Series will feature casts and show creators who’ll let us into their private world of anecdotes and stories about their films and TV shows, as well as performances by your favourite TV and film stars. First up is Kevin Smith, talented writer/director/producer and all-around cool guy. The genius behind the films Clerks, Mallrats, Dogma, Chasing Amy and the more recent Cop Out, is also the creator of the characters Jay and Silent Bob. A Late Afternoon with Kevin Smith will be presented on Thursday, July 15 at 3 PM in the Grand Salon at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. It’s a no-holds-barred Q&A where the audience is the catalyst for the entertainment and hilarity that will ensue. 
 
Get up close and personal with Rob Corddry, Jonathan Stern, David Wain, Erinn Hayes, Lake Bell, Rob Huebel and others for a live presentation of the upcoming Adult Swim series Childrens Hospital—an irreverent satire about a group of doctors with healthy libidos whose relentless dedication to their personal lives is interrupted only by the occasional need to treat sick children. The show will feature a preview screening, a live reading with audience participation, a Q&A session, and more on Saturday, July 17 at 7PM at Cinquième Salle, Place des Arts.
 
And Curb Your Enthusiasm fans unite because JB Smoove is coming to take the Insider Series by storm... in character as Leon Black - that prettay, prettay, prettay, hilariously outspoken, self-righteous live-in guest at the Larry David household. Leon (aka Jewish attorney and Groats survivor Danny Duberstein who is "good at two things") will take the stage in An Evening withLeon Black and Friends to host a motherf*cking special night of laughs with some motherf*cking special friends from the Festival on Friday, July 16 and Saturday, July 17 at 7 PM at the Cabaret Juste pour rire.
 
COMICPRO - The Just For Laughs ULTIMATE FAN PACKAGE
Comedy fans take note: the Just For Laughs Comedy Conference is going public with the launch of COMICPRO - The Just For Laughs ULTIMATE FAN PACKAGE. This year for the first time in Festival history, the Just For Laughs Comedy Conference can be attended by comedy enthusiasts, students and young professionals who want to know more about what goes on inside the comedy world. The package includes the Insider Series, Zoofest Comedy, Just For Laughs Films, panels discussing TV and film, keynote speaker Lewis Black, Andy Kindler’s State of the Industry Address, the Onion Presentation – a slideshow presentation of their fake history, and the Comedy Conference Awards Ceremony, providing the ultimate behind-the-scenes, on-screen, and live comedy experience for the ultimate comedy fan. It’s a rare opportunity to learn from, and mingle with, the giants of the industry, while enjoying some great shows.
 
For only $99 the COMICPRO Fan Pass includes:
- Access to the Insider Series
- Access to the Just For Laughs Comedy Conference panels and speakers
- Access to Zoofest Comedy shows including sketch, solo shows, international acts and more
- Access to Just For Laughs Films
INFO & REGISTRATION FOR COMICPRO: www.hahaha.com/fan
 
Don’t forget: Early registration for Industry passes also continues until June 10. Stay tuned for more information about the Conference in the near future!
INFO & REGISTRATION FOR INDUSTRY MEMBERS: www.hahaha.com/conference
 
BIOGRAPHIES
Kevin Smith
Smith has spent the last fifteen years as a writer/director making movies such as Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Jersey Girl, Clerks II, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, and most recently, Cop Out, with Tracy Morgan and Bruce Willis. He has also produced indie efforts; including Bryan Johnson’s Lion’s Gate release Vulgar, Academy Award winner Good Will Hunting, and a pair of Sundance-selected documentaries (Reel Paradise and Small Town Gay Bar). Not content to limit his work to the film world, his college Q&A visits have been captured in a series of DVDs, he’s written for both major comic book giants DC and Marvel and published two books full of essays and blog postings (Silent Bob Speaks and the New York Times Best Seller My Boring-Ass Life), as well as Shootin’ the Sh*t with Kevin Smith – a collection of the best material from SModcast, Smith and producer Scott Mosier’s weekly podcast. His fan base has been built from the Web up via his site www.viewaskew.com and he owns a comic book store named Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash in Red Bank, NJ.
 
Childrens Hospital
Childrens Hospital, a new comedy series created by Rob Corddry (Hot Tub Time Machine, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart) and featuring an all-star cast, is set to premiere on Adult Swim this summer. Childrens Hospital is based on the Webby Award–winning digital series that debuted on TheWB.com in 2008 and quickly became a Web hit with its twisted take on network medical dramas like Grey’s Anatomy and House. The complete Childrens Hospital – including both the newly produced episodes as well as the original Webisodes – will premiere on Adult Swim this summer. Childrens Hospital explores the emotional struggles and sexual politics of a group of doctors charged with healthy libidos. Their dedication to their personal lives is relentless, interrupted only by the occasional need to treat sick children. Childrens Hospital is produced by Abominable Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Television. Executive producers are Rob Corddry (Hot Tub Time Machine, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart), Jonathan Stern (The Ten, Scotland, PA) and David Wain (Role Models, Wet Hot American Summer).
 
JB Smoove
JB Smoove currently stars as series regular Leon Black on HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, a character that has earned him an astounding cult-like following… not unlike his character’s character Danny Duberstein during the Seinfeld reunion plot on Curb. JB’s career started taking off when he teamed up with Chris Rock; first with featured guest spots on The Chris Rock Show, then as the narrator on the cult movie classic Pootie Tang. JB went on to many gigs after that, including a co-starring role opposite Adam Sandler on Mr. Deeds, a position with Saturday Night Live as a writer, performer, and warm-up comedian and a regular sketch actor on Late Night with Conan O’Brien. He holds a recurring role as Manny on Everybody Hates Chris, and was a series regular on the hit comedy ‘Til Death and can be seen in the feature film Date Night with Steve Carell and Tina Fey. He has no plans of slowing down in 2010, with several big projects on the horizon including developing and writing his own show for Sony.
 
About the Just For Laughs Group
Founded in 1983, the Just For Laughs Group’s growth is concentrated on four major focal points: Festivals (in Montreal, Toronto, Chicago and Paris); television production (most notably Gags seen in 135 countries and on 95 airlines); live shows (Canadian tour dates for Jerry Seinfeld, Jeremy Hotz, John Pinette, Louis C.K., the Capital One Just For Laughs Comedy Tour, North American dates for Family Guy Live!, Arturo Brachetti’s show Change in London); and talent management. Its  inaugural Montreal Festival 28 years ago is now the world's largest and most prestigious comedy event. The Group has offices in Montreal, Paris, Los Angeles, Toronto and London.
 
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Contact:                 Corrine Leon – Just For Laughs – 514-845-4069 ext 6069 cleon@hahaha.com

                                Leisa Lee – Just For Laughs – 514-946-2010 – llee@hahaha.com