Comedy news: Such Small Portions's news

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Filming for the next Anchorman movie could start as soon as February next year is has been revealed.

Director Adam McKay revealed during an interview on MTV that plans for ‘a bigger crazier’ sequel to the cult comedy film are getting closer, with budget negotiations the final hurdle to overcome before a shooting can start.

McKay told MTV “It’s a tricky movie because everyone went and did really well after it, so everyone’s prices went up and everyone’s time got a little more valuable.

“But at the same time, graciously, Steve [Carell] and Paul [Rudd] and everyone agreed to cut their price to come and do [the sequel], which you don’t see very often in Hollywood — and cut their price substantially.

“But even with that, it’s just a budgetary thing with Paramount in terms of how much they’ll give us to make it.”

One of the original cast members Steve Carell, who played weatherman Brick Tamland in the film, is keen on reuniting the cast for the sequel.

“The enduring popularity of Anchorman really does surprise me, especially in Britain,” Carell said

“Whenever I come here, after talking about The Office and Ricky Gervais, that’s the next subject people want to discuss. I find it astounding.”

“It was certainly one of the most fun things I was ever involved in. I talked to Will recently about a sequel. I would love to do it again.”

McKay has revealed that the next instalment of the Anchorman franchise could be set in the 1980s to avoid making the sequel too similar to the first film,

“[The ‘80s angle is] more the frame of it. We have this other, bigger, crazier idea that’s really more what it’s about, which I can’t say.

“Our thinking was there’s just no way the second one is going to be as good as the first, because the first one is the first one.

“So our idea is if we’re going to do a second one, we better go for it and try some insane stuff and we’ll be enjoying it and that way it can't be half bad.”

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The BBC has apologised for a joke made by comedian Frankie Boyle almost two years ago. 

The BBC Trust, the body which acts as the final arbiter of complaints has upheld a finding against a joke Boyle made on Radio 4 comedy show Political Animal in June 2008 when Boyle compared Palestine with a cake being "punched to pieces by a very angry Jew".

Boyle said: 'I'm quite interested in the Middle East, I'm actually studying that Israeli army martial arts. And I know 16 ways to kick a Palestinian woman in the back.

'It's a difficult question to understand. I've got an analogy which explains the whole thing quite well: If you imagine that Palestine is a cake - well, that cake is being punched to pieces by a very angry Jew."

The comments were labelled ‘disgusting’ and ‘anti-semitic’ by a complainant who, Though the BBC had previously admitted that the use of the joke was  ‘inappropriate and offensive’, was concerned that the joke had been broadcast ‘without ringing any alarm bells’. 

In a statement the Trust  said: “In conclusion the committee stated that it was very sorry that the breach of editorial standards had occurred in this case, but was satisfied that no further action was required.”

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Michael McIntyre has asked the BBC to stop showing his old clips in case the public begin to think that he has run out of jokes. 

The comedian, who has achieved a meteoric rise to fame in the past two years, has asked the corporation to stop reruns of his Comedy Roadshow – which has been shown three times already.

Talking to The Sun McIntyre said: "The re-running is unbelievable. The BBC repeat shows so much that people think I'm actually doing the show again.

"People come up to me saying 'When are you going to get some new material?'

"I say 'It was a repeat - it wasn't me doing it all again'."

McIntyre recently returned to the live stage in preparation for the forthcoming series of Comedy Roadshow at The Comedy Store.

The new Monday night shows will until 24th May and feature a number of guest comics including Pete Johansson, Mike Wilmot, Seann Walsh, John Gordillo, Ian Stone, Imran Yusuf and Doc Brown.

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Victoria Wood has been signed up to star in a show based on the early years of comedy duo Morecambe and Wise. 

Wood is set to play the role of Sadie, Eric Morecambe’s mother, in the TV drama which will document how the comedy duo formed their partnership.

Though Wood may be more well known for her comedy routines, the drama will see her return to the type of role which saw Wood win a Bafta in 2007 for her part in Housewife, 49.

The new drama comes as part of the renewed investment into quality programming by the BBC as it puts more resources into home grown dramas.

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The BBC have lined up Graham Norton as the replacement for Jonathan Ross when he steps down from his BBC Radio 2 slot in a deal which would make the Irish comedian one of the most prominent faces in the corporation.

Norton has been stepping in as a replacement DJ in a number of Radio 2 shows in the last few weeks and is set to cover for Chris Evans when he takes a break shortly. 

Norton is expected to make £225,000 a year if he takes up the three-hour long slot, which runs from 10am – 1pm on Saturday mornings.

Norton took a £500,000 pay cut when he signed a new deal with the BBC earlier this year.

The news of Norton’s slot was leaked by early morning DJ Sarah Kennedy, who told listeners, that the comedian was to be given a show last week. "I've just learned Graham Norton is joining us full-time on Radio 2. That'll be nice," she said.

A Radio 2 spokeswoman said: "Radio 2 is currently considering its options regarding the new host of the Saturday morning slot.

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Borat and Bruno star Sacha Baron Cohen’s latest movie endeavour has got Hollywood movie studios in such as spin that one even sent the star a goat in a bid to convince him to sign with them.

Up to four studios were caught up in a bidding war for Cohen’s latest offering, so to win the comedian over studio chiefs at Paramount Pictures sent him a goat wearing a t-shirt with the studio’s name on it.

The animal arrived at the offices of William Morris Endeavor where it caused widespread mayhem including pooing on the floor.

A source told The Sun: "Bosses at the studio arranged for one goat to be sent to Sacha's LA home wearing a Paramount T-shirt. 

"They sent another to the plush Beverly Hills office of his agents, William Morris. But the animal had a call of nature outside his agent's office on the third floor. 

"It squatted down in the hall in front of where everyone was working. 

"It was disgusting. One of the guys looking after the goat tried to clean it up but the awful smell stuck around for hours." 

The new film, which is a closely guarded secret, has been penned by the team behind Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm and apparantley sees Cohen play the role of a goat herder and a deposed foreign dictator stuck in the U.S.

Cohen is reported to be in line for a £50 million pay day if the film is a success. He is reported to have received $20million (£13million) upfront as well as taking 20 per cent of the films profits. 

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Latitude Festival have added another bundle of comedians to their arts line-up for the 2010 festival.

Among the new additions is Robin Ince’s Book Club which is returning to the Literary Arena for another year (hopefully to emulate last year’s prank when Ince came out from underneath the stage dressed as a crab).

Included on the Book Club bill are Josie Long, Kevin Eldon, Joanna Neary, Robyn Hitchcock, Gavin Osborn, The Mark Thomas Community Pub Quiz, Kristin Hersh, Jim Bob, and Olly Hicks, 

Among the new additions to the comedy stage are Phill Jupitus and friends improv, Craig Campbell, Micky Flanagan, Andi Osho, while the cabaret arena will see the return of Frisky and Mannish.

We’ve also heard that musical comedy newcomer Suz Kempner has been booked for the Latitude weekend as well, though we are unsure which stage she will be appearing on.

SSP’s festival guide to 2010 will be winging its way to the General Public in May! Enjoy!

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Some of the top names in UK comedy dropped into London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital on Friday to present staff and patients with a cheque for the money raised from Channel 4’s Comedy Gala at the O2. 

Lee Evans, Alan Carr, Michael McItnyre, Kevin Bishop, Jack Dee and Shappi Khorsandi presented staff and patients a cheque for an impressive £869,492.81 – which was a combination of box office takings and an advance for the forthcoming DVD release of the gala.

Over 35 comedians took the stage in March to perform at Channel 4’s Comedy Gala at the O2. The comedy extravaganza watched by 15,000 comedy fans at the O2 featured a world class collection of stars all giving up their time to support Great Ormond Street Hospital. The event was so successful plans are under way for Comedy Gala 2011.

Alan Carr, who opened the show on the night, said: “Wow! What a night! And what an amazing amount of money for Great Ormond Street - bring on next year!”

Before Michael McIntyre added: “I’m absolutely thrilled that so much money has been raised for such a fantastic cause.  This event will help so many children and I’m delighted to have taken part.”

The money raised from Channel 4’s Comedy Gala will fund two new anaesthetic rooms, allowing parents to stay with their child right up until they enter the operating theatres.

Kevin Lygo, Director of Television at Channel 4 said: “We’re delighted to have raised so much money for Great Ormond Street hospital, and grateful to all the comedians who waived their fees to help us put on such a spectacular event.

"If only the comedians had been a bit funnier maybe we could have reached the magic million. Ah well, next time.”

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Helen Mirren has been signed up for the remake of Dudley Moore’s classic comedy Arthur.

Mirren is set to join Russell Brand, who is set to play Moore’s role as Arthur, as his nanny, reprising a similar role to Arthur’s original valet, who was played by John Gielgud.

The film is the latest in a long line of ‘80s remakes to come out of Hollywood which are set to come out of Hollywood in 2010/11 including Big, Weird Science and Ghostbusters 3.

Brand is considered the ideal candidate to play Arthur, the a heavy-drinking socialite playboy who absconds from his arranged marriage to a wealthy heiress to run off with a working class waitress.

Shooting for the film will begin in New York in July, with the script being developed by Borat writer Peter Baynham. The film is to be directed by Jason Winer

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Funny or Die UK, the British version of the popular comedy video website is in production talks with BBC Comedy.

According to satellite TV magazine C21 the deal is set to give the web channel a production budget to supply content to the BBC Comedy Extra channel.

The move comes after similar agreements in the U.S. between Funny or Die and cable channel HBO and is the first since the BBC committed to reducing its online budget – approximately £133m – by a third by 2013.

Funny Or Die was setup by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay in 2007 is an online comedy video website which allows visitors to vote on user-generated video clips which they think are funny. The videos which become popular are featured more prominently on the site while those doomed 'to die' are moved to an archive folder on the site.

The UK website is joint-owned by Hat Trick Productions and fronted by Little Britain duo Matt Lucas and David Walliams.

BBC Comedy Extra already hosts some of the BBC’s best comedy archive including Red Dwarf and Only Fools and Horses as well as Mitchell and Webb and Stewart Lee.