A charming documentary short about the life and career of Jeffrey Gurian by New York City-based filmmaker Derek Brown. Despite being a fixture in the comedy world for the last 40 years, writing for some of the biggest stars in comedy since the 1980s, Jeffrey never became a household name. This is due in part to the fact that his foray into comedy coincided with running his own cosmetic dentistry practice. “Who The F*ck Is Jeffrey Gurian?” explores the unique contradiction of his two professional passions and his continued pursuit of becoming a famous comedian:
“I met Jeffrey Gurian when I first moved to New York. After working in restaurants to make ends meet for a few months, I was itching to do anything involving film. I scoured Craigslist applying to everything I saw that looked somewhat related to video production. A few days later I received an email titled, “RE: Nationally Known Comedy Writer Seeks Intern.” Next thing I knew, I was in Jeffrey’s Upper East Side apartment being interviewed to edit videos for his Youtube channel, Comedy Matters TV. The walls in his apartment were filled from ceiling to floor with pictures of Jeffrey with every celebrity on the planet. While I only ended up working for Jeffrey out of his apartment for a few months, the experience left an impression on me.
About five years later, I was struggling to get a narrative film off the ground. Raising funds is not my specialty. I thought, “Am I going to be stuck making content for brands that I don’t believe in and just pursuing my original work instead of actually being able to make it?” Jeffrey popped into my head. I identified with his life long pursuit of comedy fame and wanted to tell that story. I called him the next day and we met at a diner to discuss the possibility of me making a film chronicling his life and work in comedy.”
Director/Producer/Cinematographer/Editor: Derek Brown
Associate Producer: Jacob Salzberg
Graphic Design/Illustration/Animation: Rich Schemm
Colorist: Frankie Turiano
Post Sound Mixer: Gaelan Mullins
Music Supervisor: Ethan Converse
Original Music: Alex Collier & Lincoln Lute
This video was submitted by Derek Brown and selected by our team. Click here if you have a project you’d like us to check out!
Share
Tweet
Email
