ComedyPRO announces winners of the 2014 Just For Laughs Awards

Emmy® and Golden Globe Award-winning actor, comedian and writer, Andy Samberg, is this year’s Just For Laughs Comedy Person of the Year. He joins a prestigious list of former recipients that includes Amy Poehler (2013), Chelsea Handler (2012) and Louis CK (2011). Mr. Samberg and six fellow recipients will receive their awards at a live show on Friday, July 25, 2014 at 5 pm, Grand Salon Opera, Hyatt Regency Montreal. A limited number of tickets to the Just For Laughs Awards Show are now on sale at www.hahaha.com.

Star of the break-out comedy TV series Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Andy Samberg was a cast member on Saturday Night Live (2005 - 2012), where he co-created the popular SNL Digital Shorts as a member of The Lonely Island alongside Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer. Film appearances have included Hot Rod, I Love You, Man, That’s My Boy, Celeste and Jesse Forever and Hotel Transylvania.

Vancouver natives Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg are the recipients of Comedy Directors of the Year for The Interview — the film that could get us blown sky high! An action-comedy about a plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, The Interview, stars Rogen, James Franco and Lizzy Caplan. It opens nationwide on October 10, 2014 (Columbia Pictures). Previous film collaborations from the two childhood friends include Superbad and This Is the End.

A master of the workplace comedy, Michael Schur is best known for his work on The Office, Parks and Recreation and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, which he co-created with Daniel J. Goor. Recipient of this year’s Just For Laughs Comedy Writer of the Year Award, Michael will be part of an exclusive Brooklyn Nine-Nine appearance moderated by The New York Times culture reporter, Dave Itzkoff, and featuring the show’s cast, creators and producers. The event takes place Thursday, July 24th at 4 pm at the Hyatt Regency Montreal.

We can all thank the improv comedy group at Point Grey Secondary School in Vancouver, B.C. for giving us not only Seth Rogen but also our Breakout Comedy Star of the Year — Nathan Fielder. Known for his “ingenious dumb humour”, Fielder is the star of the hit Comedy Central TV series, Nathan For You, whose second season had its debut on July 1st. In Canada, Fielder is best known for his weekly segments on the CBC comedy series This Hour Has 22 Minutes. Stateside, Fielder has made a name for himself as the genius behind “Dumb Starbucks”. He was recently given the #longread treatment by The New York Times Magazine.

One of the top comedic voices of his generation, Bill Burr is Stand-Up Comedian of the Year. With three critically-acclaimed stand-up specials under his belt, Burr sells out theatres internationally, his Monday Morning Podcast is one of the most popular podcasts online, and he co-founded the All Things Comedy network. Later this year Burr will be seen opposite Kevin Costner in the indie film, Black and White, and he’s been seen in some of the most creative film and TV projects around including: Breaking Bad (Patrick Kuby), The Heat, Kroll Show and Chappelle’s Show.

Finally, The Harold Greenberg Fund “Best Comedic Short Film” goes to Deep End and its animator/director, Bill Plympton. Plympton is considered the King of Indie Animation and is the only person to hand draw an entire animated feature film. He is best known for his 1987 Oscar®-nominated animated short "Your Face” and for his series “Guard Dog”, “Guide Dog”, “Hot Dog” and “Horn Dog”. Since 1991, he has made nine animated feature films.

The Just For Laughs Awards Show is presented by the Fonds de solidarité FTQ and hosted by American stand-up Pete Holmes, star of The Pete Holmes Show and host of You Made It Weird, one of the most popular podcasts on the comedy inter-web.

The Just For Laughs ComedyPRO Conference takes place July 24 - 26, 2014 at the Hyatt Regency Montreal. The Just For Laughs Awards show is included with all levels of ComedyPRO passes — Industry, Express, Conference and Quebec — now on sale at comedypro.hahaha.com. ComedyPRO registration is powered by EVENTBRITE.

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About the Just For Laughs Group:
Founded in 1983, the Just For Laughs Group has had but one goal in its 30-plus years of operation: make people happy. To achieve this goal, the Just For Laughs Group has focused on four major products: festivals in Montreal, Toronto, Chicago and Sydney; television production including Gags seen in over 140 countries and on over 100 airlines and stand-up specials; live shows, such as Canadian tour dates for Jerry Seinfeld, Louis C.K., Jim Gaffigan and the Capital One Just For Laughs Comedy Tour; and talent management. The Just For Laughs Montreal Comedy Festival is the world’s largest and most prestigious comedy event welcoming on average 1.5 million visitors to Montreal each summer and generating approximately $80 million for the city’s economy. The Group has offices in Montreal, Paris, Los Angeles, Toronto and London.

About ComedyPRO:
ComedyPRO is a unique, annual global gathering of the biggest players in the comedy industry. The event takes place during the peak industry/media/performer dates of the Just For Laughs Festival. You simply cannot get any closer than this to the people who truly make comedy happen, and in ComedyPRO’s relaxed, laid-back atmosphere, we’re all equals! Registrants for this one-of-a-kind, three-day conference gain exclusive access to some of the most sought-after events in all of comedy, including industry luncheons, cocktail parties, and exclusive live performances of comedy’s buzziest podcasts.