Nulman’s addition to new comedy fest a head-scratcher
We can’t get enough comedy in this town. But the recent creation of the Festival du rire de Montréal was not entirely born out of a desire to spread more mirth around the city, but rather because of the allegations of sexual assault and misconduct against Gilbert Rozon, the Just for Laughs/Juste pour rire founder, president and chief shareholder.
Rozon has since departed, and the festival is seeking a buyer for his shares.
The upstart Festival du rire was founded by 50 of Quebec’s best and brightest, including Mike Ward, Lise Dion, Anthony Kavanagh, Sylvain Larocque and Martin Petit. The new fest is also pledging to be fully transparent in regard to “ethical management, social responsibility and equal pay.”
The festival’s agenda is noble. But beyond that, it could also be a much-needed boost for franco comedy here. Unlike the situation on the anglo side of the festival, there has been little evolution on the franco side. It has been largely stagnant for years, relying on too many of the same performers and show models. Rozon had played a much more pivotal role on the franco programming side, and perhaps his imprint hindered change.
It should be pointed out that the English and French sides of the festival are virtually two distinct entities under one loose umbrella. As noted in a previous column, few of the international anglo comics had any dealings with Rozon and doubted the charges against him would have any impact on their participation.
A move last week by the Festival du rire, however, has led to some head-scratching. The fest announced that Andy Nulman had joined the new venture as a consultant. On the surface, that seems somewhat curious. After all, few have had a closer relationship with Rozon than Nulman. In an interview on CTV on Monday, Nulman said Rozon had been like “a brother” to him.
Rozon hired Nulman as a publicist in 1985, the third year of JFL operations and the first year of the English program. Nulman was to move swiftly from promotion to running the English side of the festival in the years to come. In so doing, JFL went from a two-day event to the nearly one-month spectacle it is today. Under Nulman’s watch, JFL was able to spread its wings to TV and to setting up a host of touring operations.
Nulman left the festival in 1999 to pursue other interests, mostly dealing with providing cellphone content, but he remained a member of the festival board.
In the ensuing period, longtime JFL staffer Bruce Hills took over as the COO on the anglo side and Robbie Praw became chief programmer, and the fest continued to evolve and to forge more TV relationships as well as to set up satellite operations, including Toronto, around the world.
In 2010, Nulman returned in another role as president, Festivals and TV, of Just for Laughs. He left that position almost three years ago. Nulman had also been initially involved in the planning of Montreal’s 375th birthday with Rozon, who helped mastermind the project. But Nulman was to leave prior to the party.
Consequently, some in the comedy community were surprised that the Festival du rire would reach out to Nulman and, for that matter, that he would accept a consulting position.
But what some consider even more puzzling is that Nulman, while still in JFL’s employ, penned an op-ed piece in the Montreal Gazette, July 26, 2014, suggesting that the future of comedy was YouTube and not necessarily in live performances.
This proclamation came in the midst of that summer’s comedy festival, and to say that it left the team of JFL execs and programmers livid would be quite the understatement. Sparks flew, and Nulman was soon to leave the festival for good.
The Festival du rire may want to enhance its presence on YouTube, but clearly if it is to be successful, it has to make inroads on the live-performance front, and not just in Quebec but throughout the franco-speaking world.
It should also be noted that, if anything, live comedy has undergone a boom in recent years.
Two months before Nulman’s piece appeared, the showbiz bible Billboard trumpeted this news: “By virtually every metric — ticket sales, the number of stars moving up to the theatre and arena level, the volume of acts doing good business — touring comedy is in the midst of a golden age … Profit margins are high, demand is growing, and ticket prices remain attractive in comparison to music and sports … Billboard estimates the live comedy business — including the growing festival space — generates revenue of approximately $300 million a year.”
A year later, Variety came out with a piece suggesting that $300 million seemed like too small a figure. Why, Kevin Hart — who played the Bell Centre at JFL in 2015 — does almost a quarter of that alone on tour. Then there are the sold-out tours of Dave Chappelle, Bill Burr, Jerry Seinfeld, Amy Schumer, Aziz Ansari — all serial JFL performers.
Spurring demand are streaming giants Netflix and Amazon and pay-cable stations like HBO and Showtime, all of whom are only too willing to tape live shows and air them. These outlets are now all more flush than ever with standup specials.
JFL has been at the forefront of this bonanza. Even with the departure of wunderkind Praw to Netflix, JFL has more than kept pace with its execs and new programming team.
Nulman, a relentless promoter, probably now sees where the future of comedy lies. Hopefully, he can open doors for the Festival du rire on the franco side. But Nulman is also a realist. “I think it’s pretty ridiculous to go up against the Just for Laughs juggernaut and try to compete on a one-to-one basis,” he told the Montreal Gazette last week.
He also held out hope about talk of a coalition with JFL once Rozon’s shares are sold.
But he ought not to be holding his breath on that one just yet.