Writer-actor-comedian will also be available to helm music videos via RSA's Black Dog Films
RSA Films has brought Eric Andre aboard its roster for commercial representation. The creator and host of the hilariously outrageous late-night comedy series The Eric Andre Show, he is a versatile artist whose talent spans stand-up comedy, acting, directing, writing, producing and music. His show, now in its sixth season on Adult Swim, has gained notoriety for its pranks, shock humor, sketches and celeb interviews, with guests including Jon Hamm, Natasha Lyonne, Aubrey Peeples, Seth Rogan, Killer Mike, Demi Lovato and Jimmy Kimmel, along with impersonators of Jerry Seinfeld, Russell Brand and George Clooney.
Andre’s new comedy special Eric Andre Live Near Broadway premiered January 18 on Adult Swim and is available now to stream on Max. The special includes guest appearances from Billy Porter as well as fan-favorite characters from Andre’s show, The Grim Reaper and The Fridge Keeper.
“Eric is a visionary comedic multi-hyphenate who I’m thrilled to be reuniting with,” said Luke Ricci, president of RSA Films US, referencing their time together at Bullitt (a production company which has since evolved into Magnetic Field). “We originally connected on a Miller Lite commercial that Eric starred in and then we joined forces to get Eric directing in the advertising space. Eric booked his first commercial for Sprite with Wieden+Kennedy NY. Since then, Eric has directed spots for Veloz and Nike in between his many other pursuits and we’re elated to now have him on the RSA roster.”
“RSA is top of the line,” Andre said. “It’s like playing for the Yankees. I’m excited to build my body of work here with creative stylistic commercials and comedic commercials, both traditional scripted and the out-of-the-box hidden camera, prank-based stuff that I’m known for. It’ll be fun to bring my comedic sensibilities and point of view to the commercial world.”
Andre’s credits also include recurring roles on FXX comedy series Man Seeking Woman and HBO’s The Righteous Gemstones. He created and starred in the Netflix prank comedy Bad Trip with Michaela Conlin, Lil Rel Howery and Tiffany Haddish, and voiced Azizi in Jon Favreau’s remake of The Lion King. He recently appeared as a judge on ABC’s reality comedy series, The Prank Panel with Johnny Knoxville and Gabourey Sidibe. Andre has a musical side project performing under the name Blarf and holds a Bachelor of Music Degree from Berklee College of Music.
Andre will also be available to direct music videos via RSA’s Black Dog Films, where he hopes to pursue opportunities that include visual albums and longer format music narratives. He put his indelible comedic stamp on Thundercat’s “Tron Song,” directing and appearing in the video which starred Thundercat, and was described by ET as a “tender psychedelic soul ballad about his cat” and hailed as “particularly demented.”
Andre published his first book late last year, "Dumb Ideas" which he wrote with longtime collaborator Dan Curry with a foreword by Jack Black. It’s described as “an insane illustrated compendium about the art of pranking.” He will also star in a Super Bowl spot this year for Drumstick.
Review: Malcolm Washington Makes His Feature Directing Debut With “The Piano Lesson”
An heirloom piano takes on immense significance for one family in 1936 Pittsburgh in August Wilson's "The Piano Lesson." Generational ties also permeate the film adaptation, in which Malcolm Washington follows in his father Denzel Washington's footsteps in helping to bring the entirety of The Pittsburgh Cycle — a series of 10 plays — to the screen.
Malcolm Washington did not start from scratch in his accomplished feature filmmaking debut. He enlisted much of the cast from the recent Broadway revival with Samuel L. Jackson (Doaker Charles), his brother, John David Washington (Boy Willie), Ray Fisher (Lymon) and Michael Potts (Whining Boy). Berniece, played by Danielle Brooks in the play, is now beautifully portrayed by Danielle Deadwyler. With such rich material and a cast for whom it's second nature, it would be hard, one imagines, to go wrong. Jackson's own history with the play goes back to its original run in 1987 when he was Boy Willie.
It's not the simplest thing to make a play feel cinematic, but Malcolm Washington was up to the task. His film opens up the world of the Charles family beyond the living room. In fact, this adaptation, which Washington co-wrote with "Mudbound" screenwriter Virgil Williams, goes beyond Wilson's text and shows us the past and the origins of the intricately engraved piano that's central to all the fuss. It even opens on a big, action-filled set piece in 1911, during which the piano is stolen from a white family's home. Another fleshes out Doaker's monologue in which he explains to the uninitiated, Fisher's Lymon, and the audience, the tortured history of the thing. While it might have been nice to keep the camera on Jackson, such a great, grounding presence throughout, the good news is that he really makes... Read More