LARRY THE CABLE GUY CONNECTS WITH COMEDY CENTRAL� FOR ANIMATED PILOT
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NEW YORK, December 13, 2006 -- Larry the Cable Guy will bring his well-known and distinctive sense of humor to a half-hour animated pilot with COMEDY CENTRAL, it was announced today by Lauren Corrao, executive vice president, original programming and development, COMEDY CENTRAL.
Created and written by Larry the Cable Guy, Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow, the pilot stars Larry the Cable Guy as a misguided but well-intentioned co-owner of a cable TV station. The station's other owner is a woman of class and taste who does not share his vision for programming, preferring instead a more traditional station line-up to Larry's experimental, half-baked show ideas. They seldom agree on anything but she is stuck with Larry and his push-the-envelope programs.
"Larry the Cable Guy's humor continues to resonate with the COMEDY CENTRAL audience and we're very excited to extend our relationship with him through this animated pilot," said Corrao. "His unique voice and heightened characterization should translate very nicely into the world of animation and what better form of flattery than to create an animated character based on one of Blue Collar comedy's mainstays."
"I am very excited about this animated project," said Larry the Cable Guy. "COMEDY CENTRAL has always been good to me and I thank them for giving me the opportunity, once again, to live up to their low expectations."
The pilot will be executive produced by Larry the Cable Guy, J.P. Williams, Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow. Jim Sharp is the executive in charge of production for COMEDY CENTRAL. This deal was brokered by Abel Lezcano of Del, Shaw, Moonves, Tanaka, Finkelstein and Lezcano and CAA.
Larry the Cable Guy has built a successful, multi-faceted career that includes his Grammy-nominated and Gold-selling album, "The Right to Bear Arms," his best-selling book, "Git-R-Done," "Blue Collar TV" for The WB television network and the hugely successful "Blue Collar Comedy Tour" concert films. He also starred in "Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector" and provided the voice for "Mater" in the hit Disney-Pixar animated feature, "Cars."
In addition to the animated pilot for COMEDY CENTRAL, Larry the Cable Guy is slated to star in the 2007 theatrical release, "Delta Farce," and recently taped his own one-hour, stand-up special for COMEDY CENTRAL which will premiere next summer.
Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow have written several feature films including the Disney-Pixar animated feature "Toy Story," "Money Talks" starring Chris Tucker and Charlie Sheen, "Goodbye Lover," which starred Patricia Arquette, Dermot Mulroney, Mary-Louise Parker and Don Johnson, and "Cheaper by the Dozen," starring Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt.
COMEDY CENTRAL's successful history with Blue Collar programming began with the November 2003 Network Television Premiere of the concert film "Blue Collar Comedy Tour: The Movie," which drew over two million viewers. In 2005 the franchise really exploded, first with the World Premiere of the film's sequel, "Blue Collar Comedy Tour Rides Again," which debuted in February and drew a phenomenal 6.1 million viewers. "The COMEDY CENTRAL Roast of Jeff Foxworthy," featuring Bill Engvall, Ron White and Larry the Cable Guy as Roastmasters, followed in March and pulled in an even better 6.2 million viewers. These two programs stand as the 2nd and 3rd most watched programs in COMEDY CENTRAL's history, trailing only the April 1998 episode of "South Park" in which the identity of Cartman's father was revealed.
In June 2006, 5.3 million viewers tuned in to COMEDY CENTRAL for the World Premiere of the Grammy-nominated "Blue Collar Comedy Tour: One for the Road," the final installment in the concert film trilogy. The program ranks as the 5th most watched program in COMEDY CENTRAL's history, coloring the network's Top 5 list a distinctive shade of Blue.
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