comedy writing

Are readers ever supposed to laugh out loud while reading a comedy screenplay?

What are the best ways to get attention?

Are most comedy screenplays sold based on actual wit or high concept marketability?

Oh, you want readers to laugh out loud while reading your script! That's the highest compliment you can receive.

And the best way to get attention is to write a script that is so riveting they just want to keep turning the pages!

there are different kinds of comedy: LOL broad and slapstick, omg black, simple smiling subtle grin, etc....
you need to decide what kind you want to write first.

imo the best comedies are ones that hit home with realism. you need to find out what's real with you. what makes you laugh and they recreate it.

write on!

i always laugh out loud at really good funny stuff...

good writing of any kind gets my attention...

what sells a good comedy is the same stuff that sells anything [any/all of the below]:

-anything by that writer gets sold before it's even pitched

-the writer has hefty connections [blood or money]

-the script is so good, they'd be crazy not to buy it

-the concept is so hot the lousy writing's no prob... even studio hacks won't be able to ruin it

Are readers ever supposed to laugh out loud while reading a comedy screenplay?

I'd say that's a good target to aim for. When I read Mamet's STATE & MAIN I found myself smiling all the way through, liking the characters lots, and wishing it didn't have to end. Those are good targets to aim for, too.

What are the best ways to get attention?

Take off your clothes, paint yourself from head to toe with glue, and dive head-first into a tubful of chicken feathers. After that, you will get all the attention you need.

Are most comedy screenplays sold based on actual wit or high concept marketability?

I don't know, but I suspect the latter.

So what's your comedy screenplay about and why would I laugh out loud?

-Derek
My Web Page - naked women, bestial sex, and whopping big lies.

Comedies are tough. It seems that the dark comedy market is drying out completely. Noone is buying or making them. The broader, the better. High concept are always considered if not bought. Foreign markets are coming into play more and more. It seems that nowardays 50% of the revenue comes from overseas releases. So if a comedy doesn't translate well elsewhere, it is less likely to be considered. Now, all that said, this should only concern you if you are a pro doing the pitching or the "meet and greet" circuit. If you are not, just write! Because by the time you finish, rewrite, polish and rewrite again, all this will no longer be relevant.