New Just For Laughs Fest Owner Tells Ticket Buyers: Laugh or Get a Refund
If Montrealers aren't bursting with laughter watching JFL galas this weekend at the Place des Arts hosted by Roy Wood Jr., Fortune Feimster, Michelle Buteau and Saturday Night Live castmember Mikey Day, they'll get their hard-earned dollars back.
More from The Hollywood Reporter
'Top Boy' and 'Eddington' Star Micheal Ward Charged With 2 Counts of Rape by London Police
Kieron Moore Relishes Taking on Complex Characters, From 'Code of Silence' to Queer Camboy
The Exiles of Tehrangeles
'If they're not happy, we're going to reimburse them without argument,' Parent-Bedard, a Quebec comedy veteran who has done a pivot to English-language comedy by buying JFL out of bankruptcy in 2024, tells The Hollywood Reporter.
He has big shoes to fill, after JFL over the decades left belly-laughing Montrealers entertained by big names like Jerry Seinfeld, Jimmy Fallon, Lewis Black, Chris Rock, Robin Williams, Steve Martin, Larry the Cable Guy and others.
But he remains that confident of his comedy programming for the 2025 edition, which followed a canceled JFL in 2024 and the rehiring of festival veteran Nick Brazao as head of programming.
'Nick and his team have done such a great job and we have worked so well on the galas with the hosts and the comics that I'm ready to tell them (ticket holders) that we need them, and because we need them, we want to have a good relationship,' Parent-Bedard said of winning over Montrealers who sustained JFL through the decades.
That was until Just For Laughs filed for bankruptcy protection in 2024 after running up debts coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, facing price inflation in Montreal and an increasingly disruptive global entertainment business.
Parent-Bedard's ComediHa! banner based in Quebec City bought the JFL brand and library out of bankruptcy with an eye to reviving the Montreal festival to the point it once again becomes the comedy industry powerhouse it was pre-pandemic.
In what has become a transition year with the 2025 edition, Parent-Bedard is looking for a 'solid' 2025 edition to kickstart the comedy festival's comeback. And down the road, Parent-Bedard is looking to expand on JFL's roots by holding comedy festivals around the world, including Toronto, Sydney, Australia and Bermuda, while also drawing in new comedic talent from YouTube, TikTok and other digital platforms.
'The vision at the moment is to stabilize Just For Laughs. And maybe it won't become the same thing as it was, but for sure, it will be something great that everybody, fans and industry people, want to participate on in a new way, but we are not there yet,' he told THR.
That leaves chief programmer Brazao, with an eye to drawing established and emerging comedic talent to Montreal, as in the past, having to walk a tightrope between appealing to a traditional film and TV industry out of Hollywood and an increasingly global entertainment industry where new talent and voices can come from anywhere and everywhere.
'The uniqueness of the festival is trying to have both,' Brazao explains as JFL in the future will also look to new programming, for example by talent that blew up on TikTok or Instagram, while also bringing big-name performers to Montreal to anchor comedy shows.
'We're going to remain taste makers by being able to show people, hey, you need to trust the brand and you need to trust us, that we're doing the homework to find these amazing people from all over the world that you don't know yet. So it's both,' he explained.
The Just For Laughs comedy festival continues in Montreal through Sunday.
Best of The Hollywood Reporter
From 'Party in the U.S.A.' to 'Born in the U.S.A.': 20 of America's Most Patriotic (and Un-Patriotic) Musical Offerings
Most Anticipated Concert Tours of 2025: Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar & SZA, Sabrina Carpenter and More
Hollywood's Most Notable Deaths of 2025
Solve the daily Crossword
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
11 minutes ago
- Fox News
Fox News Entertainment Newsletter: American Eagle on Sydney Sweeney's ad, Paulina Porizkova stuns in bikini
Welcome to the Fox News Entertainment Newsletter. TOP 3: - American Eagle fires back at critics after Sydney Sweeney campaign sparks online backlash - Supermodel Paulina Porizkova stuns in bikini and lingerie to show 'the beauty of 60' - Prince Harry 'desperate' to win back royal family in latest maneuver with King Charles: expert LIFTING THE CURTAIN - Justin Timberlake battling Lyme disease, faced 'relentlessly debilitating' pain during world tour. LEGENDARY GOODBYE - Rock legends gather for Ozzy Osbourne's final farewell at private mansion ceremony. HOLLYWOOD HEAT - Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson's hot chemistry comes after he swore off dating. INDUSTRY PUSHBACK - 'Yellowstone' star Neal McDonough says Hollywood blackballed him due to his no-kissing rule. CAMO HEARTS - 'Duck Dynasty' stars Willie and Korie Robertson share the hard-won lessons of decades-long marriage. SPARKS FLY - Katy Perry fuels Justin Trudeau romance buzz with Montreal tour stop appearance. HOLLYWOOD HEARTBREAK - Dean Cain admits romance with Pamela Anderson was short-lived for this one reason. LIKE WHAT YOU'RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS FOLLOW FOX NEWS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
The streaming numbers are out for 'Happy Gilmore 2' and that's what we call a hole-in-one
The reviews on "Happy Gilmore 2" are mixed. The results are not. The sequel to Adam Sandler's 1996 comedy hit Netflix on July 25 and the numbers don't lie. According to Variety, 46.7 million viewers streamed the movie in just three days — making it the biggest U.S. opening weekend in Netflix history. It also hit a high-water mark for Sandler, who has been a key cog for the platform. The movie brings back Sandler in the lead role. Co-stars Julie Bowen and Christopher McDonald are back to reprise their roles as Virginia Venit, a PGA Tour publicist-turned romantic interest for Happy, and cocky pro golfer Shooter McGavin, respectively. The film includes a ton of pro golfers making cameos as well, including Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Keegan Bradley, Rickie Fowler, Tony Finau, Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele, Jordan Spieth and Will Zalatoris from the PGA Tour, as well as Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka from LIV Golf. Legends of the game make appearances, too, such as Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino and John Daly. When asked, McDonald said he loved meeting many of the players, but one two-time Masters champ stood out. "He's a good man, Bubba Watson. I have known a few of these golf legends and legends-in-training," McDonald said. "But seeing them one-on-one, it's like: 'Oh, my God, that's Rory McIlroy. That's Bryson DeChambeau. That's Scottie Scheffler.' It was mind-blowing for me. And I came in on my days off just to hang out with them." This article originally appeared on Golfweek: 'Happy Gilmore 2' broke Netflix records in its first weekend Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Top-level comedians take the stage this week in CT arts from Jerry Seinfeld to John Mulaney
It's an exception week for live comedy in Connecticut with Ana Gasteyer at Westport Playhouse, Aziz Ansari at Ridgefield Playhouse, Louis C.K. at Foxwoods, Jerry Seinfeld in Bridgeport and a quadruple bill of John Mulaney, Fred Armisen, Mike Birbiglia and Nick Kroll at Westville Music Bowl. If music is your thing, take your pick from metal legends Pantera, rapper L'il Wayne and country star Luke Bryan at the Xfinity Theatre in Hartford or 1990s rockers Goo Goo Dolls and Dashboard Confessional at the Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater and The Flaming Lips and Modest Mouse at Westville Music Bowl. The famed metal band Pantera, who has been rocking since 1981, is at Xfinity Theatre on Aug. 3 at 7 p.m. $54.50-$792.40. The name of country star Lyle Lovett's backing group, 'HIs Large Band,' is more than an amusing play on 'big band.' It really is a powerful, wide-ranging ensemble that suits Lovett's grand Americana exuberance. Aug. 5 at 8 p.m. $69.92-$122.42. Rapper L'il Wayne of 'Annihilate' and 'Lollipop' fame brings his 'Tha Carter VI Tour: 20+ Years of Carter Classics' to the Xfinity Theatre on Aug. 5 at 8 p.m. His first 'Tha Carter' album came out in 2004, it was followed by 'Tha Carter II' in 2005 and 'Tha Carter VI,' was released this year. $40.56-$617.30. SteveSongs, the children's entertainer seen on PBS Kids, plays a live show that also features Connecticut singer/songwriter Chris Listorti. Aug. 6 at 1 p.m. $12-$17. The 'Parks and Recreation' and 'Master of None' comic actor has always been a stand-up star. His show on Aug. 6 at 7 p.m. at Ridgefield Playhouse quickly sold out so a second show has been added at 9:30 p.m. $86-$186. It's a smorgasbord of contemporary comedy stylists. John Mulaney has been mining his own life for material lately. Fred Armisen performs comedy for drummers and is known from his past successes on 'Saturday Night Live,' 'Portlandia' and 'Late Night with Seth Meyers.' Mike Birbiglia does long-form comedy storytelling on a variety of topics, and Nick Kroll does funny voices among other things. Aug. 7 at 7 p.m. $68-$766. Mexican-American alt-rock/metal singer/songwriter Violent Vira, whose songs include 'Trantula Girl' and 'I'll Save Myself This Time,' is in the grand tradition of fast-rising acts that play Toad's Place before they wind up in bigger venues. Aug. 7 at 8 p.m. $35.25-$48; added VIP package available. The latest experimental theater piece(s) at the Yale Summer Cabaret, an innovative summer theater run by students at the Geffen School of Drama at Yale, are the interconnected one-acts 'It's not you, it's the end of the world,' with a first act written by Andrew Rincón and a second act by Max Sheldon. Performances are Aug. 7 and 8 at 8 p.m. and Aug. 9 at 3 and 8 p.m. $10; $20 with post-show event; $30 with pre- and post-show events. Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's 'penny dreadful' musical is about a barber who slays his clients and has his baker friend turn the victims into meat pies. It's kind of a love story. The Legacy Theatre in Branford is one of several productions of this classic coming up in the next year or so. Aug. 7-24. Performances are Thursdays and Fridays at 7 p.m.. Saturdays at 2 and 7 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. $40.50-$56.50. Though The Flaming Lips and Modest Mouse have both been around for ages, they maintain an experimental edge that keeps their music current. Opening act Friko, a hot indie duo from Chicago, adds some contemporaneity to the concert. Aug. 8 at 6:30 p.m. $35-$278. The Connecticut wavecore band is releasing an album, 'The Lost Years,' at this Webster Underground show on Aug. 8 at 7 p.m., with three other local bands on the bill: Night Rider, No Eye Has Seen and Shapethrower. $28.35. Yet another double bill of bands who made big waves in the 1990s. This time it's Goo Goo Dolls, whose biggest hit was 'Iris,' plus Dashboard Confessional, the act that almost singlehandedly brought emo rock into the mainstream. Aug. 8 at 7:30 p.m. $106.25-$444.15. The Mountain Goats, whose key member is and always has been John Darnielle, is deep and moody and very prolific, having released 22 albums between 1994 and now. The most recent album is 2023's 'Jenny from Athens,' so this is actually a fairly sizable lull in recording for Darnielle. Happily, The Mountain Goats are on tour, stopping at an ideal venue for this intimate, internalized indie folk/pop outfit, Aug. 8 at 8 p.m. at Infinity Music Hall Hartford. $57.73-$73.19. 'Saturday Night Live' veteran Ana Gasteyer, known for her deadpan impression of an NPR radio host, brings her solo act to Westport Playhouse on Aug. 8 at 8 p.m. $95-$125. Connecticut's largest comics convention is back for a 10th year at Mohegan Sun with vendors, cosplay, panels and other events, plus guest appearances by dozens of artists, writers and action movie stars. TV and movie celebrities on hand include Karen Allen, Carl Lumbly, Hayley Atwel, Titus Welliver, Henry Thomas and the bionic couple of Lee Majors and Lindsay Wagner. Comics fans will be awed by the likes of Chris Claremont, Skottie Young, Kevin Eastman and John Romita Jr. Aug. 8 from 1-8 p.m., Aug. 9 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Aug. 10 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $47 on Saturday, $42 on Friday or Sunday, $20 per day for children. A three-day pass is $120, $55 for children. The assumption is that the Best Music Festival will provide the best music, but the title mainly means that the festival was put together by Best Video, the landmark video store and cultural center in Hamden. Best Video has its own small stage and several live shows per week but is holding this event at Space Ballroom, a larger venue in the same town. The daylong show begins at 1:30 p.m. on Aug. 9 and the many bands playing are Trophy Wife, Rick, Bruiser & Bicycle, Pulsr, Wally, Jeff Mueller, the Hartford pop band Carey, Dead Doe, Death Valley Sun Troopers, All the Pretty Horses, Nehway and The Knife Kickers. $32.34. Max Creek and Booyah, the kind of bands you most want to get when holding an outdoor celebration, will entertain at a five-hour celebration of the first 20 years of the Simsbury Meadows Performing Arts Center. Besides live music., there are food trucks, drinks from the Moonlight Pub and a ceremony honoring the venue's many volunteers over the years. Aug. 9 from 4 to 9:45 p.m. $26-$535.38. The controversial star of 'Louie,' 'Horace and Pete' and other shows has returned to live performance in a big way. He's has two shows on Aug. 9 at 5 and 9 p.m. at Foxwoods' Premier Theatre. $71.35-$114.50. Country superstar Luke Bryan has named this year's tour after his big hit from last year, 'Country Song Came On.' Aug. 9 at 7 p.m. $67.45-$474.30. Sitcom legend and precision joke crafter Jerry Seinfeld remains a revered standup comedian. On Aug. 9 at 8 p.m., he's at the Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater. $225.25-$678.10. The Florida metal band Nonpoint has been around since the late 1990s, released its last album of new material in 2018 and is on its 'Painful Statements' tour. The opening acts are Upon a Burning Body and Autumn Kings. Aug. 9 at 8 p.m. $34.54. Solve the daily Crossword
