Old news on J.F.L., but worth posting

by Brian McKim & Traci Skene on August 24th, 2006

Etan Vlessing, writing for the Hollywood Reporter on July 26 says:

TORONTO — Montreal’s Just For Laughs comedy festival on Tuesday named veteran talent manager Maureen Taran as its vp of programming, replacing longtime programr (sic) Jodi Lieberman. Taran, a Montreal native, most recently ran her own New York City-based talent management business, the Taran Co., after working for nine years at the Barry Katz Entertainment Group. She will rejoin the Just For Laughs organization this fall after first cutting her teeth in comedy while working as a talent logistics coordinator at the festival during the early 1990s. Working alongside Just For Laughs chief operating officer Bruce Hills and the rest of the programming team in Montreal, Taran said she aims at extending the festival’s brand south of the border.

That bit about “extending the festival’s brand south of the border” is rather ominous, no? Who must worry the most? Aspen? Vegas? Boston? NYC? Stay tuned.