The 14 finalists of the Jimmy Kimmel Live! College Comedy Competition came out one by one in the Grand Ballroom of the Student Union Memorial Center last night expecting their performances to be streamed live onto Kimmel’s ABC late-night talk show.
They were disappointed to hear that the national broadcast was postponed due to the ongoing Hollywood screenwriters’ strike.
“”I’m pretty angry,”” said winner Christian Reyes, a community college student from Reno, Nev. “”It would’ve been fun to be on national TV and show everyone what I’ve got.””
The competition will appear on “”Live!”” but when is yet to be determined, said Tommy Bruce, president of the Associated Students of the University of Arizona.
Losing nation-wide exposure could seriously hinder the chances of last night’s participants to establish comedy careers, said Wrisley Magargal, an account executive for U.S. Concepts, a company that helped put on the event.
“”It’s really hard to break into comedy, so it’s really disappointing for everyone involved,”” she said. “”It’s really not fair to the students here.””
As the finalists delivered such a crowd-pleasing show, knowing that the event was not televised made the situation that much more unsatisfying, said Kiel Siler, a music sophomore.
“”Overall, the show was great, and Jeff was hilarious,”” he said. “”It’s not right that it wasn’t on TV. People everywhere would’ve thought it was funny.””
Andrew Stanley, ASUA special events director, echoed
the sentiment.
“”I was really impressed with the comedians,”” he said. “”Everyone did a fantastic job.””
Not everyone was upset that the competition didn’t air.
“”The show was really awkward,”” said Ariana Brawley, a dance freshman. “”Thank God it wasn’t on national TV.””
Writers’ strikes are to be expected from time to time in Hollywood, said Jeff Ross, a comedian who performed in the Grand Ballroom before introducing each of the competitors.
“”Disappointments happen in show business,”” he said. “”I always say, ‘Expect disappointments.’ You’ll always be satisfied.””
All of the parties involved in the strike should work together to end it, said Joe Stamey, a film production junior at Arizona State University.
“”Writers shouldn’t be undervalued,”” he said. “”You can’t do a show without someone writing it.””
