Comedy Central and Twitter have partnered to launch a five-day comedy festival that will run on the social networking site and feature videos, roundtable conversations, and tweets from Judd Apatow, Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Paul Feig, Amy Schumer, Steve Agee, and more. The two companies announced the festival, which comedians will participate in with the hashtag #ComedyFest, via The NY Times today.
The festival kicks off next Monday, April 29th, with Twitter livestreaming a panel at LA’s Paley Center featuring Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner and hosted by Judd Apatow. This will be the only #ComedyFest event with a live audience, and the panel discussion will partly consist of Apatow and Reiner trying to convince technophobe Brooks to join Twitter. Tuesday will feature comedian Steve Agee hosting a “Vine Dining†party, in which he uses Twitter’s six-second video service to tell a series of stories. Amy Schumer, director Paul Feig, and others will participate in #ComedyFest later in the week. Sure, Twitter is already a 24/7 comedy fest anyway, but it’s interesting to see a cable channel partner with the social networking service, which could become a new way people consume entertainment in the coming years or it could just end up being a weird experiment that doesn’t work and we never hear about again.
Hit the jump for the full lineup:
#COMEDYFEST EVENT LINEUP#ComedyFest lineup subject to change - additional talent and events to be announced .Monday, April 295:00 p.m. Mel Brooks Joins TwitterWith the help of Carl Reiner and moderator Judd Apatow, and in front of a live audience, the legendary Mel Brooks will join Twitter, answer questions and discuss his life and work. Watch the livestream on Twitter!Talent: Carl Reiner @carlreiner, Judd Apatow @juddapatow, Mel Brooks@melbrooks11:00 p.m. Ben Hoffman Tweets on AmbienBen Hoffman will take you inside the medication-addled mind of… Ben Hoffman, as he live tweets himself on Ambien. You’re going to want to tune in, because most likely you’re going to need to take over for him at some point. Seriously.Talent: Ben Hoffman @thebenshowTuesday, April 301:00 p.m. I Figured Out the Internet: Secrets of My Twitter SuccessIn this half-panel, half-discussion, some of Twitter’s funniest, most-loved celebrities meet like some sort of bizarre Avengers to talk about what it’s like to be big on Twitter.Talent:  Moderator: Jake Fogelnest @jakefogelnest; Amber Earnest@rare_basement, Shelby Fero @shelbyfero, Julieanne Smolinski @boobsradley, Ted Travelstead @trumpetcake6:00 p.m. Vine Dining with Steve AgeeYou might say it’s impossible to tell a compelling story in six seconds, but these comedians will prove otherwise. Join Steve Agee as he hosts a Vine party with contributions from his Vine friends.Talent: Steve Agee @steveagee, James Urbaniak @jamesurbaniak, Marlo Meekins@marlomeekins9:00 p.m. What’s Newsing?Working from the weirdest and most relevant headlines of the day, some of the hottest comedians on Twitter will come up with tweets about them. You may not become more informed, but you will laugh.Talent: Moderators Jared Logan @jaredlogan & Matt Braunger @braunger and Al Jackson @aljaxn10:30 p.m. Tweeting All Up Inside Amy SchumerDuring the premiere of the new COMEDY CENTRAL series “Inside Amy Schumerâ€, Amy Schumer herself will be livetweeting—giving you the inside scoop, telling you things that went right and wrong during shooting, and more!Talent: Amy Schumer @amyschumerWednesday, May 112:30 p.m. The Comedy Directors of Comedy: A PanelThis panel gathers some of the best comedy directors out there—Paul Feig, Lance Bangs, Neal Brennan, and more—and gets them to discuss the ins and outs of directing comedy successfully.Talent: Moderator: TBD, Jordan Vogt-Roberts @vogtroberts, Lance Bangs@lancebangs, Rob Schrab @robschrab, Paul Feig @paulfeig, Neil Brennan@nealbrennan2:45 p.m. Reno 911! Movie! Reunion!Stars Tom Lennon and Kerri Kenney-Silver livetweet their opus, “Reno 911!: Miamiâ€, with the help of Kumail Nanjiani. Watch the movie with them and get lots of behind-the-scenes stories.Talent: Tom Lennon @thomaslennon, Kerri Kenney-Silver @kerrikenney, Moderator Michael Ian Black @michaelianblack4:00 p.m. The Comedy Central “Half Hour†Daytime Drinking Game17 comedians, who recorded episodes of “The Half Hour†with COMEDY CENTRAL, have gathered all in one place: Twitter. For a half hour, while a sneak peek of their specials is being broadcast, they’ll participate in a massive daytime drinking game.Talent: Erik Griffin @erikgriffin, Jonah Ray @jonahray, Sean Patton@mrseanpatton, Sean O’Connor @seanoconnz, Baron Vaughn @barvonblaq, Dan Soder @dansoder, Nikki Glaser @nikkiglaser, Lil Rel Howery @lilrel4, Gabe Liedman @gabeliedman, Mike Lawrence @themikelawrence, Andy Haynes@imandyhaynes, Ben Kronberg @benkronberg, Dan St. Germain @dsgermain, Jared Logan @jaredlogan, Joe DeRosa @joederosacomedy, Cristela Alonzo@cristela9, Brody Stevens @brodyismefriendThursday, May 22:00 p.m. Encino Man Livetweet with Doug BensonDoug Benson, king of movies, livetweets one of the most important movies of our time: “Encino Man.â€Talent: Doug Benson @dougbenson6:00 p.m. Writers’ Room: A PanelComedians aren’t just doing stand-up, they’re also writing some of the TV shows you love. #ComedyFest has gathered a few of them for this show about what it’s like to be in a writers’ room, how they do both stand-up and TV writing, and more!Talent: Moshe Kasher @moshekasher, Dominic Dierkes @dominicdierkes, Sean O’Connor @seanoconz, Megan Ganz @meganganz,  Mike Drucker@mikedrucker, Jess Dweck @thedweck and Albertina Rizzo @albz9:00 p.m. What’s Newsing?A second edition of What’s Newsing, because apparently the news changes from day to dayTalent: Jared Logan @jaredlogan and Al Jackson @aljaxn10:00 p.m. Roast Me with Jeffrey RossRoast Master Jeffrey Ross unleashes his infamous insult comedy on a few lucky (and willing!) Twitter users. @ComedyCentral will invite brave souls to submit their profiles for Ross to get familiar with and then rip to shreds during this hilarious event.Talent: Jeffrey Ross @realjeffreyrossFriday, May 311:00 a.m. Al Madrigal: Behind the Stand-UpRemember Pop Up Video? Now you can experience it on Twitter when Al Madrigal, along with a friend, livetweets his hour long special, “Why is the Rabbit Crying?†Madrigal gives fans an inside look into the mind of a comedian. How did he get started? What bizarre shows has he done along the way? Find out!Talent: Al Madrigal @almadrigal and Steve Rannazzisi @steverannazzisi5:30 p.m. Road WarriorsComedians spend a lot of their time touring, and they’ve amassed a ton of weird stories about touring. Join these comics—some of whom will be on the road that day—for a discussion of the ins and outs of being a touring comic.Talent: Brendon Walsh @brendonwalsh, Tommy Johnagin @tommyjohnagin, Matt Braunger @braunger, Hannibal Buress @hannibalburess, Eugene Mirman@eugenmirman12:00 a.m. Nikki & Dan: Behind the Stand-UpRemember Pop Up Video? Now you can watch it on Twitter when Nikki Glaser and Dan Soder livetweet the premiere of their COMEDY CENTRAL “The Half Hour,†and give you an inside look into the mind of a comedian. How did they get started? What bizarre shows have they done along the way? Find out!Talent: Dan Soder @dansoder, Nikki Glaser @nikkiglaser