- Title: Amazon Studios pushes reality based comedy
- Date: 5th May 2017
- Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (RECENT - APRIL 20, 2017) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS PROFANITY*** (SOUNDBITE) (English) 'I LOVE DICK' ACTOR, KEVIN BACON, SAYING: "I was like 'That's a great title. Who am I'? and they said 'You're Dick' and I was like 'That's even better.'" (SOUNDBITE) (English) 'I LOVE DICK' CREATORS SARAH GUBBINS AND JILL SOLOWAY, SAYING: Jill Soloway: "It's about a man named Dick. What are you thinking? You've got a dirty mind. Yeah, what's your problem?" Sarah Gubbins: "I'm very fond of Richard but 'I Love Dick' is shorter." (SOUNDBITE) (English) 'I LOVE DICK' ACTRESS KATHRYN HAHN, SAYING: "Well, I mean, you have to say it over and over again as many times as you can until it loses its meaning so I would just to strangers on the street just say 'I Love Dick' and then it starts to lose its kind of meaning."
- Embargoed: 19th May 2017 16:56
- Keywords: Kathryn Hahn Kevin Bacon Catastrophe I Love Dick Transparent Jill Soloway comedy Reality
- Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES; UNIDENTIFIED FILMING LOCATIONS
- City: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES; UNIDENTIFIED FILMING LOCATIONS
- Country: USA
- Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment,Television
- Reuters ID: LVA00C6FK8FGT
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:CONTAINS PROFANITY
After the success of Jill Soloway's award-winning "Transparent", Amazon Studios has turned to more comedic productions which are rooted in reality.
British comedy "Catastrophe" and the Jill Soloway produced "I Love Dick" are two of the studios' latest productions, which bring a similar sense of humor to their respective shows and contain characters whose insecurities and vices are on show but are not used for narrative techniques.
"I like to call it 'Fun-comfortable' or vulnerable or 'fun-vulnerable' or 'funerable'," said Soloway, adding "You really root for people that have heart and you have moments where you might shed a tear. That's not wrong to shed a tear during a comedy."
"I Love Dick's" lead actress Kathryn Hahn, who plays failed female film director Chris who finds a different outlet for her creativity after meeting art guru 'Dick' (Kevin Bacon), praised the directors of the show, which include indie film makers Andrea Arnold ('Fishtank') and Kimberly Peirce ('Boys Don't Cry') for the style steeped in reality.
"All these humans have a very similar aesthetic and taste which is just digging for truth and even the cringiest of moments, the 'wink wink' that sometimes happens would be really detrimental in this," said Hahn.
"It's the opposite of escapism," explained Kevin Bacon who plays the titular Dick. "It's in your face in a way and I think everything we approach on the show has that sort of vibe."
"Catastrophe", which sees American Rob (Rob Delaney) and Irish girl Sharon (Sharon Horgan) try to get by in London as a married couple despite varied complications in life, follows the same comedic tone.
Delaney, who writes, directs and executive produces the show with Horgan, believes that this new wave of reality comedy isn't just a progression of the genre.
"As cameras get better and high definition gets stronger and it's more and more like you're there, shows just have to become realer," he admitted, adding "You can see all the warts and hairs and stuff, your show just has to be realer, so it's not because we're creative, it's because we're keeping up with ocular technology."
"Catastrophe" was released on Amazon Prime on April 28 while "I Love Dick" will premiere its season on May 12. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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