Kimmie Dee

It was 6:00 am, the sun was already blazing and it was gearing up to be a beautiful day in Valley Village, CA. Usually, I’d be bummed out what with having to spend the day inside working, but not today because today the Famous People Talkin’ About Sh*t panel was scheduled to insight and amuse at 11:00 am. And amuse it did!

On hand for imparting comic wisdom, improvisational exposition and general hilarity was Bob Odenkirk, (SNL, Breaking Bad, and too many more to mention), Julie Bowen, (a mess o’ busy-ness, Modern Family) Missi Pyle, (The Sarah Silverman Show and a boat load of other stuff) Mark Hamill, (Really? You even have to ask?) and Michael Jai White (Black Dynamite).

The best way to accurately describe the panel is perhaps … think no rules, no decorum, no format and no formality whatsoever. Artistic Director Gary Anthony Williams made a feeble attempt to comic wrangle but as soon as seats were taken, GAME ON! Bob O took over as moderator questioning panelists, Missi broke out in song from an Abe Lincoln musical she did at Summer Stock, while Mark Hamill morphed between himself, Bela Lugosi and Sir Alec Guinness. A few shits, a coupla fucks and some sonsabitches flew because after all, there was a Neo Nazi/White Supremacist rally joined by the anti Neo Nazi protestors all raging across the street, in downtown LA and after all, we had some black folk on the panel we had to keep safe.

Taking notes was not possible considering how much I was laughing, how much fun I was having and how smart, funny and honest everyone was. If there were a talent scale, this panel’s numbers would be OFF THE CHARTS!

Bottom line, I just love, love, love this family…I mean festival! Thank you Gary Anthony, Jeannie and Ryan! Thank you!