Creating Comedy Content w/ Just For Laughs

In our latest episode of Global VID, we sit down with Bruce Hills, the President of Just For Laughs' English-language business to discuss the TV production side of the company... all leading up to the 40th anniversary summer of the world-renowned comedy festival in Montreal. We also learn about Bruce's early start in the entertainment business which provides great advice for aspiring + up & coming producers alike. If you work within the comedy industry, this episode is not to be missed! 
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Global VID Season 2, Episode 8  is hosted/produced by Eric Y. Lapointe and And Now Global, a Vancouver based international content consulting company.
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About Bruce Hills:

Just For Laughs’ President Bruce Hills has been a driving force behind the world’s biggest comedy festival and most prestigious comedy brand for over 30 years. 

Beginning his Just For Laughs career as a driver in 1986, Hills has since held countless roles within the organization, including Director of Programming, Vice-President of International Television, COO, and now President. He oversees all of the company’s English business properties across global markets, focusing on growing the business in all divisions. 

Under his helm, Just For Laughs has significantly expanded its reach by launching festivals in
Montréal, Toronto, Vancouver and Sydney, Australia. 

Over the past three decades, Hills has discovered and cultivated relationships with some of the industry’s most successful and influential artists, including Dave Chappelle, Kevin Hart, Trevor Noah, Wanda Sykes, Margaret Cho, Jimmy Fallon, Bill Burr, to name a few.

Hills’ talents in TV development have led to over 1,500 Just For Laughs television specials broadcast by various key networks from around the world. The company’s TV deals have reached new heights, partnering with Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Kevin Hart’s HartBeat Productions, to name a few. As an award-winning producer, Hills received three consecutive Canadian Screen Awards for Best Variety or Entertainment Special for stand-up specials featuring Trevor Noah, PK Subban, and Aisha Brown. He served as a consulting producer on NBC's Bring the Funny, and as an Executive Producer on Amazon Prime’s critically acclaimed 6-episode docuseries, Inside Jokes.

Hills also helped establish Just For Laughs Live as the #1 comedy promoter in Canada, which produces sold out tours across the country. Named one of Variety’s “50 Individuals Who Impacted Comedy”, declared “The King of Comedy” by The Globe and Mail and hailed by the UK’s edition of GQ Magazine as “the most powerful man in international comedy”, and has been honoured twice by the legendary comedian, Dave Chappelle. First in 2015, as the “Comedy Curator of a Generation” at the Montréal Festival; then again at the prestigious 2017 Canadian Screen Awards where JFL received the Canadian Academy’s Icon Award. Hills is frequently a keynote speaker and panelist at various festivals across the globe. 

Twitter: @Brucehills
Instagram: @Brucehillsjfl
LinkedIn: BruceHills