New documentary premiers on 20th anniversary of terror attacks

A new documentary film will explore how comedy helped America cope with the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Too Soon: Comedy After 9/11  features interviews with comedians including David Cross, Janeane Garofalo, Marc Maron, Gilbert Gottfried, Doug Stanhope, Jimmy Carr and Russell Peters

The 88-minute film will discuss how stand-ups, Broadway performers, late-night hosts, The Onion and Saturday Night Live managed to help their audience laugh even in the darkest of days.

Producers Pulse Films say: 'When it seemed incomprehensible to laugh again in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, entertainers walked a tightrope of appropriate humour in the turbulent days, weeks and years that followed. 

‘Through many onstage trials and tribulations – occasionally leading to career destruction or death threats – they discovered that comedy is a vital force that unites and heals no matter what difficult times we find ourselves in.’

Peters added: ‘As a guy known for his disregard for political correctness, I am really happy to be part of this entertaining and introspective dive into the proper time to comment on dramatic events...which from a comic’s point-of-view is rarely ever "too soon".’

Too Soon: Comedy After 9/11 is being screened on America’s Vice network on September 8, just three days before the 20th anniversary of the attacks. And on September 11 itself the documentary will be screened at Hollywood Boulevard’s TCL Chinese Theatre. There is no news yet 

The documentary is directed by Emmy-nominated filmmaker Nick Fituri Scown and award-winning comedy journalist Julie Seabaugh. 

Its title comes from a cry that came out from the crowd a couple of weeks after the Al Qaeda attacks, when Gottfried joked on stage: ‘I have to leave early tonight, I have a flight to California. I can’t get a direct flight — they said I have to stop at the Empire State Building first.

‘I was at the roast of Hugh Hefner, and I just wanted to be the first person to make a really-poor-taste joke about September 11,’ the comic later recalled.

Morgan Hertzan, from Vice TV, said: ‘As a native New Yorker living in NYC on 9/11, I never thought on that day we would be able to laugh about such a profound tragedy.

‘Combined with the indomitable spirit of this magnificent city, these hilarious comedians helped build a bridge back to healing. Vice TV is fortunate to tell this singular chapter of 9/11 history and grateful to partner with our colleagues at Pulse Films on this important story.’

Will And Grace star Sean Hayes is one of the executive producers on the movie. He said: ‘I’m thrilled to be part of such an important project.

‘There’s a reason why comedy and tragedy are often paired; it’s because comedy has a healing effect through the most difficult periods of people's lives and I’m hoping the audience will feel that with Too Soon.’

Published: 19 Aug 2021