Posed as a courier to pitch HBO Canada
Robby Hoffman posed as a courier to hand-deliver her spec script directly to the president of HBO Canada early in her career.
Where this was said
Introducing Robby Hoffman: Emmy Winner, Spec Script Courier, Gay Icon Adjacent
At 4:06 · chapter starts 3:45
Sean Hayes's introduction of Robby Hoffman is a masterclass in raising anticipation: she's the 7th of 10 kids from a Hasidic Montreal household, she studied accounting, did stand-up in college, once posed as a courier to hand-deliver a spec script to the president of HBO Canada, won an Emmy for writing, and had John Mulaney call her one of the funniest people alive before directing her Netflix special. The moment Robby appears, the chemistry is immediate. She teases Will Arnett for his film Switch, tells Sean Hayes that Jennifer Aniston is specifically a lesbian icon thanks to wearing a belt in the 1990s, and then levels Jason Bateman with the news that his website was once a gay porn hub — which Jason admits he found briefly flattering. The tone is set: Robby is quick, brutal, and warm in equal measure.
7th of 10 children
Robby Hoffman is the 7th of 10 children raised in a Hasidic household in Montreal, where the family was poor and comedy was a survival mechanism.
JasonBateman.com was a gay porn hub
Jason Bateman's attorney once called him to reveal that JasonBateman.com was a gay porn hub website linking to hundreds of gay porn sites.
Similar snapshots
John Mulaney cold-texted Robby
John Mulaney cold-texted Robby Hoffman out of nowhere to offer to produce her Netflix special, which became Wake Up.
Two Netflix specials filmed in one night
Robby and Mulaney filmed two shows in one night for the Netflix special; after the first they knew they had it, so the second was a victory lap.
250–300 shows per year
Jimmy Carr performs up to 300 shows a year, often doing two shows per night, which he says reduces nerves rather than increasing them.
Comedy optimal speech: 92 BPM
Jimmy Carr says that speaking at roughly 92 beats per minute is the optimal cadence for comedy and public speaking, including political speeches like Obama's.
The oldest joke is ~4,000 years old
The oldest recorded joke appears in a Roman book called 'The Lover of Laughter' and is still funny — a barber asking how a man wants his haircut, who replies 'in silence'.
Overton window expanded by comedians
Jimmy Carr argues that comedians like George Carlin, Richard Pryor, and Dave Chappelle have permanently expanded the conversational Overton window on sex, politics, and taboo topics.
Lion King musical: $11B lifetime gross
The Lion King musical has grossed over $11 billion in its 30-year run, making it the single highest-grossing piece of entertainment in history across any medium.
Invader mosaics in Paris: 1,500
The anonymous French street artist Invader has placed 1,500 of his pixel-art mosaics across Paris alone, with thousands more in over 80 cities worldwide.
Flash Invaders app: 47 million flashes
Players of the Flash Invaders app have collectively logged more than 47 million 'flashes' — scans of the artist Invader's street mosaics.
