Steve's Blog

AFI’s 100 Laughs: #100 – Good Morning Vietnam

I’ve decided, for no other reason than it’s there, to screen, or in most cases, to re-screen all 100 movies on AFI’s 100 Laughs list and to report back to you, faithful readers, on how the movie has stood the test of time. Or the test of my own set of preconceived...

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“Any particular tips for approaching sketch writing?
In particular, any advice for coming up with strong endings?

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Other Resources

Great Web Sites Scriptchat: The place to be on Twitter for all things screenwriting Michael Wiese Books: The place to go for books on filmmaking Great People Pilar Alessandra: "The Coffee Break Screenwriter" Theresa Robbins Dudeck: "Keith Johnstone: A Critical...

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Happy Bert-day, Cowardly Lion!

Happy Bert-day, Cowardly Lion!

Bert Lahr was born in New York City on this day in 1895. A star in vaudeville and on Broadway, his career in the movies never really took off--except for this little picture he once was featured in, The Wizard of Oz. Happy Birthday, Bert!

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So, a minister walks into a bookstore, and . . .

. . . and buys my book, and writes a whole sermon based on the book! How cool/bizarre/unlikely/cool is that? The recording begins in the middle of the first sentence which went something like, "When was the last time you read a good book on the theory of comedy?" The...

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The “Hidden Tools” on Blog Talk Radio

This is an interview I gave last year prior to the publication of The Hidden Tools.  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/michaelwieseproductions/2012/02/14/steve-kaplan--hidden-tools-of-comedy        

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Coming to a Bookstore Near You . . .

2013-01-16 . . . even though by the time this is published, there may not be any bookstores left open. In any event, on July 1, 2013,  my book The Hidden Tools of Comedy: The Serious Business of Being Funny will be published by Michael Wiese Productions. Woot Woot!

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ISA Podcast Dec. 2011

In this podcast, sponsored by the International Screenwriter's Association, we talk about the 8 myths of comedy. The Comedy Perception Test. And the 8 Hidden Tools of Comedy. And the last half hour is reserved for a Q&A session — your chance to have one of your...

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Interview, Part 2

2012-02-18 This is the second part of an interview with German journalist and film-maker Harald Dudel, recorded during the Chicago Comedy Intensive in November 2010

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Archives

Great People

Resources

Blue Sky Social: Like Twitter used to be, minus the hateful bots and trolls

Michael Wiese Books: The place to go for books on filmmaking

Recommended Books

 Impro – by Keith Johnstone

Keith Johnstone: A Critical Biography – by Theresa Robbins Dudeck

Step by Step to StandUp Comedy – by Greg Dean

The Coffee Break Screenwriter – by Pilar Alessandra

Articles

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