Acting Funny Shane Rhyne, Erik Tait, ExclusiveSound, Matthew Solomon, Kyle Tollett

In this episode, we visit the year 1659 to explore "a small invention with big implications" for the future of cinema. Guest expert Dr. Jeremy Brooker, chair of the Magic Lantern Society, explains the history and purpose of magic lanterns and their influence on early filmmakers. Film historian Ian Christie also shares a short introduction to the history of English Music Hall performance and its influence on film comedy.

Movies are magic. That may be why magicians had a surprisingly influential role to play in the earliest days of film. Host Shane Rhyne has a conversation with Dr. Matthew Solomon from the University of Michigan about the life of Georges Méliès and the influences of magic and magicians on early comedy. Shane also talks with magician and comedian Erik Tait (as seen on CW's Penn & Teller: Fool Us) about how comedy and magic still work together today.

1895 is the birth year of cinema and the birth of the comedy film. Host Shane Rhyne speaks with film studies professor Martin Barnier of the Université Lumière Lyon 2 about the history of the Lumière brothers and their landmark film, L'Arroseur Arrosé (The Sprinkler Sprinkled). Shane also interviews John Hurst and Aaron Littleton from the Video Death Loop podcast to explore how comedy can be found in thirty second videos.

It's a sneak preview of Season 1 of Acting Funny, the podcast that takes comedy film seriously. Your host Shane Rhyne is exploring 125 years of comedy on film, one year at a time, with help from cinema historians, comedians, and other guest experts. The podcast debuts on December 28, 2020.