Modified On February 18, 2008
This just came in over the cyber transom, from a reader in England, and it seems to be credible.
About three weeks ago, thirty or so comics were flown from London to Miami for 2 days. It had all the glamor of a cattle call. Acts were hauled out of bed at 6:30 AM just so they could wait around for hours and hours.
Stage one: All the acts did their five minutes to the producers. (It really felt like they were casting a reality show rather than looking for the best comics.)
Stage two: Those chosen went on to perform for the judges and then to a competition in a comedy club in the evening.
Shazia Mirza
Stephen K. Amos
Toju
Paul Foot
We noted in a previous post that, just after we encountered the travelling talent trawl in Atlanta, we Googled Bill Bellamy‘s name and the only thing we could find in the news section was a mention of him shooting some B-roll at a Miami Heat game. Hmmm… that would fit the time frame.