The Swear Police

Started by funny people, for funny people, The L.A. Comedy Shorts Film Festival, a four-day, non-stop celebration of comedic short films, came to hilarious conclusion Sunday evening.

The inaugural festival was a tremendous success, bringing together the hottest comedic talent in the industry for a fun-packed weekend of screenings, parties, industry panels and star-studded red carpet events.  The LACSFF proudly hosted over 65 filmmakers from around the world…outstanding for a first time festival!

The Closing Night ceremony took place at Cinespace in Hollywood, hosted by Adam Carolla.   Presenters and attendees included Mark Hamill (Star Wars), Wendi McLendon-Covey (Reno 911), Mindy Sterling (Austin Powers), Jennifer Coolidge (American Pie, A Mighty Wind), Aaron McGruder (Boondocks), Dana Snyder (Aqua Teen Hunger Force), Laraine Newman (SNL alum), Aisha Tyler, Cedric Yarbrough (Reno 911), Phil LaMarr (MadTV), Carlos Alazraqui (Reno 911), Tara Strong (Powerpuff Girls), Jill Talley (Boondocks) and more!

The L.A. Comedy Shorts Film Festival celebrated director/writer/actor/comedian Bobcat Goldthwait, who received the very first COMMIE AWARD in recognition of his comedic genius and contribution to comedy filmmaking.  The award was presented by Tom Kenny, who is the voice of Spongebob Square Pants and has been friends with Goldthwait since the early formative age of six.

Filmmakers and screenwriters competed for over $40,000 in cash and prizes.  Packages include in-person meetings with comedy video websites AtomicWedgie.com and Atom.com, and management/production companies Benderspink and Generate, as well as a copy of Movie Magic Screenwriter 6 software, courtesy of The Write Brothers.  The Funny Or Die Best-Of-Fest Award will also receive a featured position on the Funny or Die homepage, a one-day film production package courtesy of The Association valued at $12,000, plus a post-sound editing package on their next short film, courtesy of Stokes Audio, an $8000+ video editing package from Storytellerz Productions and an original musical scoring package by composer Kubilay Uner.

And the winners are:

Atomic Wedgie Best Comedy Shortie-Short:  The Swear Police - World Premiere
Directed by Joe Wilson
Swear jars suck.

Atom.com Best Animated Comedy Short:  Distraxion – World PremiereDirected by Mike Stern
An office worker’s job is made extremely difficult because of his boss’s taste in music.

Captain Coulier

Atom.com Best Comedy Short: Daryl From OnCar – World PremiereDirected by David McWhirter
Ted’s screwed. His keys are locked in his car. Fortunately, his 2007 ½ Domestic Minivan has OnCar™ – the revolutionary on-board navigation/concierge/emergency system. Within moments, Daryl, Ted’s personal customer service ambassador, unlocks the car remotely. Ted soon realizes that OnCar™ does far more than advertised. One touch of that big red button and Daryl can get Ted virtually anything he wants. Ted considers Daryl one of the family, until Daryl becomes psycho-obsessive and meddlesome –- like one of the family. And when Ted tries to make Daryl back off, he discovers that you don’t mess with the man from OnCar™…

Funny Or Die Best-of-Fest:  Captain Coulier
Directed by Lyndon Casey
Sick of the pressure from his parents to become successful on planet Earth, Anthony Coulier impulsively became a space explorer. Although lured to space by the promise of action, adventure, and glory, he now battles space travel’s greatest obstacle: boredom. Now in between planets and with mission operations under control, he becomes restless and argumentative with a distant crew. Loneliness sinks in. Maybe intergalactic space travel isn’t his shtick…

Atomic Wedgie Audience Award:  A Bit of Counseling – World Premiere
Directed by Deb Hiett, Richard Kuhlman.
A British couple seeks therapy for an unusual problem…and finds an unusual solution.

Movie Magic Screenwriter Screenplay Competition
Sponsored by Write Brothers, winners of the Screenplay Competition receive meetings and cash valued at approximately $10,000.  Each finalist of both short and feature screenplays receive a cash prize, travel to Los Angeles courtesy of the Kyoto Grand Hotel and Gardens, and get a copy of Movie Magic Screenwriter 6 software.  In addition, the finalists of the short screenplay category also receive a copy of Final Draft’s Scriptwriter Suite.

The winning Screenplays are:

The Rock Thrower

Best Comedy Feature: The Rock Thrower Written by Ted Farnath
Throwing rocks. Most people stop by puberty; not Drew Putz, a sardonic male pushing 30 who is exceptionally skilled in the art and needs to find a way to utilize his peculiar talent into making a living and, ultimately, making a difference.

Best Comedy Short: Danny Caldwell Goes to Hell
Written by Austin Sheeley 
Desperate to sell a script, a young screenwriter “sells out” and writes a horror film. Upon dying, he is condemned to spend eternity in a cliché horror movie as punishment for writing one.