COMEDY: Chris Parnell on screenwriting (Archer, SNL, Suburgatory, Lazy Sunday 2, Anchorman)
Chris Parnell is a veteran comedic actor who honed his skills in The Groundlings and on Saturday Night Live, before moving to films like Anchorman and Hot Rod. Lately, he’s appeared in 21 Jump Street, The Five-Year Engagement and he’s a regular cast member on the sitcoms Suburgatory and Archer. Those two shows had already finished for the season when Parnell popped up on the season finale of Saturday Night Live (Kristen Wiig’s final episode) in the sequel to one of the great viral videos of all time, Lazy Sunday 2.
Here’s Chris Parnell on what he looks for in a screenplay, citing scripts for 30 Rock, Anchorman, Archer and Miss Guided, and I also ask him about doing table reads:
Chris Parnell on writing his own screenplays, surprising me when he cites confidence issues as the main reason he hasn’t written anything since Saturday Night Live.
Here’s Lazy Sunday 2 (NBC.com):
I have to post the original Lazy Sunday SNL digital short. Like the Dave Chappelle Show’s “Rick James, Bitch!” sketch, it’s still just as brilliant today as it was when it debuted.
Thanks to Chris Parnell for his time, and look for more interviews this week on the blog.
Good Luck and Happy Writing,
Dan
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“There is a lot of great advice here…
Most important, as I read Calvisi’s book,
I was inspired to rethink my current
project. And that’s what it’s all about,
right?”
-Script Magazine
That Lazy Sunday Video is pretty funny. Have you seen Sister Act’s response? bit.ly/KAZLUb
I like that the actual cast of the B’way musical made the video, but they need to stop shouting and there’s just too many lyrics. It’s very hard to follow. :-0
But Marla Mindelle looks to have potential as a comedic actress. I’m sure we’ll see more of her in the future.