Veteran comedian Kevin Pollak has signed on to direct the documentary “Misery Loves Comedy” for producers Becky Newhall of Newaley Pictures and Burton Ritchie and Ben Galecki of Heretic Films.
“Misery Loves Comedy” will explore the mind of the stand-up comic and all those who choose to write or perform comedy as a profession. Pollack uses interviews, day-in-the-life sequences, archival and historic footage as well as photos, observations, essays and insights to explore why a person gets on stage in front of a room full of strangers when, in fact, public speaking is all other Americans’ foremost fear, even above death.
Pollak and the producers have assembled a veritable who’s who of comedic talent both onstage and off. The list includes Michael Ian Black, Rob Delaney, Jon Favreau, Paul Feig, Jim Gaffigan, Christopher Guest, Chris Hardwick, Penn Jillette, Richard Kind, Lisa Kudrow, Richard Lewis, Marc Maron, Jim Norton, Opie & Anthony, Jason Reitman, Andy Richter, Bob Saget, David Wain and Alan Zweibel, among others.
“My hope is that we shed all new light on the pain behind the humor, but also uncover more about the minds and hearts of comedians than any of us think we know,” said Pollak.
“As a true fan of stand-up comedy, I wanted to produce this film to better understand the inner workings of the comic,” said Newhall. “Burton and I look forward to working with Kevin to help audiences gain insight into these amazing artists.”
Comedy Central named the multi-talented Pollak one of their Top 100 Comedians of All Time. He has co-starred in over 70 films, including “The Usual Suspects,” “Casino” and “A Few Good Men.” He also hosts Kevin Pollak’s Chat Show, featuring lengthy interviews with filmmakers, actors and comedians, which is available on iTunes, YouTube and Earwolf.com.
