According to a report by Pagiba, Tom Hanks and his production company Playtone Productions is developing a movie based on the history of The Comedy Store. The film is apparently based of William Knoedelseder’s nonfiction book, I’m Dying Up Here: Heartbreak and High Times in Stand-up Comedy’s Golden Era. The book as well as the movie focuses around 1978 and Mitzi Shore’s policy of not paying comics for their stand-up performances. Mitzi Shore for those that are unfamiliar is the long time owner of The Comedy Store. No other news is available at this time about the project.
Long before I was a film fan I was a comedy fan. Anyone who is a comedy fan knows all to well about The Comedy Store. It was the starting ground for any big name you can think of in the comedy world. I will be following this project rather closely because of my interest to see who gets cast and the kind of story they will be going for. I expect something similar to Funny People in terms of tone but only time will tell. Check back with The Film Stage for updates on this project.
Would you like to see a film based on The Comedy Store?