List of L.A. Shows - Nov. 13 - 22

SHOW ADDED: I will be singing the Neutral Milk Hotel song "Holland, 1945" at UCB's Mixtape show (info) Saturday night at Midnight before heading to the Steve Allen Theater for the Herzog screening and Q&A.

(Video of the last time we did the song, in May).
(Read the lyrics by the band who wrote the song. It's about Anne Frank.)

Show info now updated BELOW:


"Rare Late-year Los Angeles appearances. . .",

Fri Nov 13-
The Whatevs in Hollywood - rock & roll music

Sat Nov 14-
The Tomorrow Show in Hollywood - Werner Herzog
~VIDEO~

Mon Nov 16-
The Talk Show at Hyperion Tavern
10 pm 1941 Hyperion Ave LA, CA 90027
Video Excerpt of Will's Performance (thanks Jenny Webber)

Wed Nov 18-
FTWednesdays! 11/18:
9:30pm at The Improv Space Westwood, CA
"Will Maier presents Willmaierca: Actor and Comedian Will Maier (Cooking with Werner Herzog) is in town for a week only, so we gave him this slot to do whatever he wants with."

Sat Nov 21-
The Tomorrow Show in Hollywood - Live Appearance as Werner Herzog (Q &A session)
Hosted by Ron Lynch. Midnight at the Steve Allen Theater.
~FACEBOOK EVENT EVITE~

Paste Magazine Review of our Werner Herzog Videos

Paste Magazine had this to say about out Werner Herzog Cooking Show video:

"Even the most serious film scholar can agree: film auteur and self-proclaimed poet Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man, a remake of Nosferatu) is ripe for satire. The larger-than-life director is occasionally shot by snipers in L.A., an occurrence which he deems "insignificant," and "part of the folklore in Los Angeles - nothing really that serious." He has waged "holy war" on television and describes his work as a quest for "ecstatic art."
Frankly, it's amazing people don't spoof the director more often. Swooping in to fill the niche are the creators of "Cooking with Werner" at WernerHerzogEatsTheWorld.com. In it, Werner Herzog hosts a cooking show with special guest filmmaker Jim Jarmusch that culminates in a quest for ecstatically truthful honey made by killer bees, for which he is jailed by a Peruvian junta that mistakes him for Martin Scorcese.

The Herzog-devoted skit is directed by Emmy Award-winning director and screenwriter John Webb and produced through Sandwich Films. Also on the website is another skit entitled "Auto Maintenance with Werner" in which Herzog chases actor Klaus Kinski after Kinski shoots him with an air rifle. But really nothing is better than watching Herzog impersonator Will Maier cook the most pretentious grilled cheese sandwich ever made, on a cooking TV show set with a laugh-track in the background."

http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/09/even-the-most-serious-film.html

Also, IMDB just added it to its "Hit List" on Friday:



;WM

A Transmission From 2008 A.D. Prime

Here's a snippet of the episode of The Jared Whitham Show that I hosted, coming to New York TV Channels very soon. I'm really excited for it!

Jared's show is the last to be broadcast over conventional analog commercial airwaves.

Keep an eye on New York Channels 6, 26, 32 & 35.

http://www.jaredwhitham.com



(link)

Myths Surrounding Success

I found this page in an old sales manual that belonged to my Grandfather. I feel it says something about how, in America, it is often difficult to imagine some of our successful heroes ever having been 'mere mortals' like ourselves. I think it's good to remind ourselves that it often takes years of failure before people experience success.

[click for larger version]


Something to think about.

I'd like to write about more pages of this book when appropriate.

~W;

Misplaced Recordings: 3 Songs 1 Spoken Word

Had forgotten these songs / recordings, all done for a friend's album: http://www.imeem.com/people/H6X4Af_

Whoops.



Also had forgotten about this portrait by the artist Lauren Weinstein, and just rescanned it at a better resolution. Believe it was made in December 2007. I drove with Lauren on a leg of her band's West Coast tour and she sent this to me afterward. I'm depicted here driving. I find Lauren to be a great and interesting person to know as well as a fantastic illustrator. Kind of inspiring to have been inspiring.

Check her stuff out at http://www.laurenweinstein.com.

'Cooking With Werner' coverage: FunnyorDie Front Page Today, Mental_Floss, IFC, etc.

The first installment of our Werner Herzog series, "Cooking With Werner", was featured today on the front page of Funnyordie.com. Thanks to all who made that possible. You can view part one here: http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/c383c32fff/cooking-with-werner-part-1-of-2

Also today, we got a nice write-up on Mental_Floss' website: thanks to Chris Higgins for that. You can read it: http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/31441

IFC blogged about a slightly different version of the short a little while ago: http://www.ifc.com/blogs/indie-eye/2009/07/fortified-with-philosophy.php

If you are new to the world of Werner Herzog, here are some facts on the real article to catch you up: http://www.wernerherzogeatstheworld.com/Reel%20Herzog.html

Also his website: http://www.wernerherzog.com/

Thanks to Scott Rodgers and Gian Molina for lending their talents, as well as our fearless Peruvian Junta members, make-up artist Claire Merriman, Music Composer Carl King (http://www.carlkingcreative.com), DP Paul Mayne (http://www.paulmaynedp.com), Producer Garth Mueller, and Director John Webb (http://sandwichfilms.net) , one of my favorite collaborators over the years.

If anyone sees the real Herzog out there, please give him a high-5.

Stay tuned for further adventures. Danke schon.

W;

Werner Herzog's New Cooking Show [video]

You all may know Werner Herzog for his groundbreaking maverick films and documentaries on bears, madmen, and Antarctica . . . but did you know that he once hosted a cooking show?

"Cooking With Werner"--with Special Guest Jim Jarmusch.

Stars William Maier, Scott Rodgers, and Gian Molina.
Directed by John Webb. Shot by Paul Mayne.

Cooking With Werner Part 1: http://funnyordie.com/videos/c383c32fff/
Cooking With Werner Part 2: http://funnyordie.com/videos/c413df14ac/

Digg this video: http://digg.com/d3zWj0 or http://digg.com/comedy/Werner_Herzog_Cooking_Show_Part_1_of_2

Please tell all of your freunden. Danke schon.

W.

Photo of Me From STAR TREK in new issue of CINEFEX Magazine

On page 64:



The accompanying text details the FX process and the secretive nature of the production. A very good read.





More details on where to find me in the movie soon.

W;

D+D Joke Center Featured on 'This American Life'

Below is a segment from Showtime's 'This American Life' profiling a comedy show I've done about 2 dozen times since it's inception 2 years ago; below it I've put a few clips from my performances.

The High-Energy Rant Thing - watch more funny videos

This Friday, Look For Me In The New Star Trek Movie

Greetings fellow mutants, aliens, humanoids. Now, finally, is the time.

This Friday, please go see the new Star Trek film and look for me in it: I'll be either running or sitting with a gaggle of other red-uniformed cadet folk. Below is a handy guide for spotting me in the film (No Spoilers):

The White Briefcase
There's a scene, part of which is visible in the trailers, of a bunch of people running on a field on a campus towards the water and a big crazy light in the sky. I was holding a white briefcase. We took the scene about 20-30 times. After the first or second take, one of the A.D.s came over and asked me to drop the white briefcase as I was running. So you may or may not be able to pick me out dropping the aforementioned briefcase and running. Disclaimer: I do not intend to disrupt your enjoyment of the film, please do not try to hard to notice me. I am one of a hundred or so fellow classmen of the Kirk, and was probably worrying about when Drop/Add ended when the light appeared in the sky.

I wonder though what was in that white briefcase? Thoughts?

There is also a scene or two in a hanger where we alternately ran around and marched in formation, and a scene in a courtroom-type environment where I am seated in the audience.

If you know anything about me, you know that I have loved Star Trek since I was 4 (as evidence I give you this excerpt of a ST movie of my own that lensed when I was about 11) , and that the experiencing of working 10 days on the film was sort of a dream come true, even if it may seem the role was not a vital one. JJ Abrams and the cast & crew (that I observed) gets an extreme high-5.

May you all live Loud and Proper.



[By the way, I am totally not supposed to have this photo, but it was the first day before they had said not to bring anything, and I went into a porta-let and did my business; just had to. I have sat on it til now and know that the uniforms are public knowledge as included in all the trailers, so please do not set me on fire because I can keep a secret and I love you.]

Signed,
Cadet William Maier
M-78, Proud Member of Echo Squad

Star Trek Preview: Exclusive Clip from the New Movie with a Younger Cast.

This is an exclusive first look at a clip from the new Star Trek film, directed by JJ Abrams featuring a younger cast. It sets up events that occur later on in the film. It's an exclusive.

Exclusive Clip from the New, Younger-cast Star Trek Film - watch more funny videos

http://geocities.com/willmaier2009

Further Jared Whitham Media Coverage

It seems that a few other news outlets will be picking up the coverage of Jared Whitham's 24-Hour A Day Marathon on New York Television until June (as I blogged about in my last post). There is now another posting on the VICE Magazine website blog featuring some of Jared's videos (scroll down to the bottom to see he & I in a segment from 2005 where Jared explains the concept of the New York based Late-Night Kids Talk Show). I have received word that Jared has been interviewed by at least one major news outlet and I'll certainly post a link to that interview as soon as it is released. Until then, here are some out-takes of a film I did with Jared back in 1999 (the film itself was released on video but is out of print and not available online. Perhaps that will change, but here is a brief look at the world of the low-budget Sci-Fi Art Film dreamed up by Jared when he was still in High School in Florida:


Project Omicron Outtakes. from Willmaierica on Vimeo.

(link to same clip on Youtube).

Other than that, congratulations to Bob Derosa on cameras rolling on his new film with Ashton Kutcher, and to Carl King on his ongoing creative efforts. Also looking forward to the release of the new Star Trek film on May 8. Stay tuned for moar.

-William

Jared Whitham in VICE Magazine Online!

Holy smokes, this is rad: There's links to his album, paintings, and an interview about how a TV channel in NY (actually, FOUR tv channels [?]) is broadcasting his self-made show non-stop 24/7 until All Analog TV Signals Die Out this coming June. Click the photo or the below link to read the story, you won't be disappointed.



Here also is Jared's own website: www.jaredwhitham.com, and links to photos of the Rocketship the article mentioned Before and After the Car-Crash.

-WM.

Twitter, new Star Trek movie [Update]

New StarTrek Trailer.

New Video: I Am [Not] A Talking Dog . . .

This video was written by Heather Campbell for the iO West Xecution semi-final challenge of making a Sitcom Pilot Presentation: it was screened in competition on 1/26, again at iO during the KWH Sketch Show on 1/30, & at the UCB LA's February edition of The Midnight Show. The video was directed by Michael Busch.

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/d1a4e471cc/



Congratulations again to Heather for the win!

http://iowest.com
http://losangeles.ucbtheatre.com

Credits: Written by Heather Campbell & Kayla Morrisey; Shot by Justin Martinez; Edited by James Pumphrey; Starring Heather Campbell, Kayla Morrisey, Will Maier; Featuring James Adomian, James Ross & Michael Busch; Produced by Michael Busch.