Writing the Comedy Movie

Marc Blake is the author of several books on comedy and comedy/sitcom writing. A stand-up comedian and comic novelist, he has had his own BBC radio series and has written for many famous comics and for numerous TV comedy shows.

Introduction - Why Laugh?
1. It’s all Greek to me: Comedy History from Aristophanes to Juvenal Establishing the Basic Tropes and Forms
2. Swiftian Satire and Shakespearean clowns: How the Elizabethans Attacked the Great and the Good with Parody and Lampoon
3. Wildean Wit: How Comedy Plays Became the Basis for the Comedy Movie
4. Silent Slapstick: How Chaplin, Keaton and Lloyd Exploited Visual Comedy
5. Dumb and Dumber: How Laurel and Hardy Created the Perfect Double Act Template
6. It Happened one Night: How Zingy Screwball Comedy led to the Rom Com
7. Sullivan’s Travels to Team America: Social Satire from the 1940s to the Present Day
8. Auteurs from Woody Allen to Sasha Baron-Cohen: One Man, One Vision
9. Here come the Girls: Women in Comedy from Kooky Girl to Leading Actress
10. The Subgenres: Fish out of Water and the Coming of Age Comedy
11. Road and Buddy Movies, Frat Boy Frolics and Gross Out
12. Sports, Military and Ensemble Comedy
13. Farce and Black Comedy
14. Crime, Caper and Heist
15. Satire, Parody and Mockumentary
Appendices
- Interviews with Directors, writers and Producers
- Writing Exercises
Filmography
Bibliography
Index