May 13th, 2013

They wanted me to be in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Eurovision Song Contest is back in Sweden again. We can’t seem to win that thing enough, can we? Anyway, I was just thinking…
Now that we have it (again) wouldn’t it be great if we used it to, you know, tell some of the countries in it that they’re assholes?
I mean both Russia, Turkey and Israel are in that thing after all. The least we could do is hint at the problems in countries like Belarus,
like that German comic (a comic. Shouldn’t come as a suprise. That’s pretty much your only chance at having somebody tell you the truth these days.)
last year or maybe mention the fact that it’s just a tad unsettling that Hungary and Greece now have proper nazis in their parliaments? Anyway… Sweden, as progressive as it may seem and as much a role model it wants to portray itself probably
isn’t gonna carpe that diem.  At all. Not even during the “funny” segments of that awful, awful show. I hope I’m wrong, but below is a sketch I was sent a couple of weeks ago.

I don’t know what I resent the most. The fact that it’s plain, boring, hack to the level that a 5-year old could have written it or the fact that they wanted ME to be in it?  Maybe i resent the fact that it would pay less
than a real hooker would charge for his or her much more honest work or is it the fact that they sent it to me with a paragraph sayin’ I couldn’t tell
anybody about it? (This e-mail contains CONFIDENTIAL AND PROPRIETARY INFORMATION intended solely for the recipient and, therefore, may not be retransmitted to any party outside of the recipient’s organization without the prior written consent of the sender. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender immediately by telephone or reply e-mail and destroy the original message without making a copy.) I mean, is that even legal? To send somebody some random shit and then have him or her legally obliged not to tell a single soul about the shit you sent them? Sounds strange to me. But if it works I’m sure gonna start using it. Anyway, confidential and proprietary or not; here’s the sketch. That I supposedly could have been in. In front of about 100 million people. Hope it never airs. It sucks. (I was gonna be “Typical Swede”)

Oh, by the way; Don’t get me wrong. I’d be happy to do stuff in front of 100 million people. I’d even do it for free. But I’d like it to at least have a slim chance to matter. Fuckers.

EDIT:

The production company very politely asked me to please take their confidential script down.
They felt that it would make a difference. And as my ambition wasn't to sabotage anything or
start some sort of vendetta (believe it or not) I'm gonna do just that. It's been up here all
day and everybody who was interested enough already read it. I suppose. If you didn't get a
chance to read it and you have a problem with that, well fuck you too. Be faster next time.
My point is made and it doesn't get more made by keeping it up here now. I felt I DID have to
post it to begin with though, as just sayin' "They´re gonna air a crappy sketch" just wouldn't do
The trick. Anyway, I removed it now because to me it's really no biggie. As I said, my point
is made. I don't regret posting it. I only regret I didn't do it sooner to give them an honest
chance to change it. I didn't.

When I first promised them to take it down, about 5 hours ago, my plan was to write a new
sketch and post it here so they could use that instead but I'm just too exhausted after a
long day and tomorrow I'm gonna visit a friend in the hospital so I'm really not in the mood
for this shit. I'm gonna eat and watch a movie. 

Oh, and by the way: If you ever get a chance
to see Setlist Show and/or Eddie Pepitone, DO! Both are amazing. Good night.

117 comments »

December 31st, 2012

Happy new year!

2012 was a horrible year for me on a personal level, possibly the worst ever. But let’s not dwell on that and focus on work where it was one of the best. After a well deserved vacation in january I ended my 4th tour of scandinavia and released my 6th comedy special. At the same time I had my own tv show that was awarded Sweden’s most prestigious tv award. And then got cancelled. I think that’s a first. Anyway, I really enjoyed doing it but doing tv for a couple of months also ment I didn’t do quite as many shows as I normally do. 166 gigs in 9 countries was this years tally and about half of those was in english.

I had so many fun gigs last year it’s hard to choose the highlights, but as far as gigs in english go the Edinburgh Fringe and a trip to Canada would probably my top choices. I wrote about those experiences in a couple of earlier posts: Edinburgh I Edinburgh II and Canada. During Edinburgh I also had one of my smallest audiences ever as I did a gig with 6 people in the audience. I also had my biggest audience ever, since I was featured on some BBC-show that people said had 18 million viewers. Twice the population of Sweden. Pretty cool. Back in Sweden I also had my largest live audience when I did a christmas gig to some 15 000 people.

Not much is planned for next year but I’m gonna try to go abroad as much as I can and hopefully add some new countries to my visited list. I’m still not up to half the countries of the world and I really need to get there before I die. I also plan to go on my 5th tour of Scandinavia and with a little luck I will also release my first special in english. Anyway, thanks everybody who came to my shows and thank you everyone who saw me on tv or downloaded my special. I really appreciate it!

Happy new year!

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December 27th, 2012

#classicmoviemarathon

A list of movies, compiled by decade, to watch during the holidays. Based on my preferences and what’s available on Netflix, Headweb, iTunes and my DVD-shelf. Compiling the list i realized the 80ies was a totally retarded decade when it came to movies and that I’m not much for comedies. 100’s should be added of course, but these are the ones we’re starting out with. Enjoy.

1920

Battleship Potemkin, Eisenstein
The Tramp, Chaplin

1930

Gone with the wind, Fleming
39 steps, Hitchcock
The Man Who Knew Too Much, Hitchcock

1940

Citizen Kane, Welles
Gilda, Vidor
Casablanca, Curtiz

1950

Seven Year Itch, Wilder
East of Eden, Kazan
Rebel Without a Cause, Weisbart
The Magician, Bergman
The 400 Blows, Truffaut
African Queen, Huston
Seven Samurai, Kurosawa
The Bridge on River Kwai, Lean

1960

Cool hand luke, Rosenberg
8 1/2, Fellini
Cleopatra, Mankiewicz
Doctor Zhivago, Lean
The Good, The bad and The Ugly Leone
The Great Escape, Sturges

1970

The Godfather I and II, Coppola
Caligula, Guccione
Apocalypse now, Coppola
Taxi Driver, Scorsese
Deer Hunter, Cimino
A Clockwork Orange, Kubrick
Jaws, Spielberg
One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, Forman

1980

The Shining, Kubrick
Scarface. De Palma
Dead Poets Society, Weir
Back to the Future, Zemeckis
Big Trouble in Little China, Carpenter

1990

Scent of a Woman, Brest
Seven, Fincher
Pulp Fiction, Tarantino
Eyes Wide Shut, Kubrick
Shawshank Redemption, Darabont
Schindler’s List, Spielberg
Silence of the Lambs, Demme

2000

Kill Bill I and II, Tarantino
Lost in translation, Coppola
The Hurt Locker, Bigelow
Gladiator, Scott
The Wrestler, Aronofsky

2010

A Royal Affair, Arcel
Sucker Punch, Snyder
Nude Nuns With Big Guns, Guzman

1 comment »

September 29th, 2012

A bit I did about the porntrial.

The #porntrial took up a lot of my time this summer, just because it was such a strange story with so many implications. It doesn’t seem to have been a big story here and maybe not even in The UK if you disregard the “twitter elite.” Anyway, check the story out. It’s far more interesting than this little routine makes it out to be. And I also forgot to mention that fisting in itself is perfectly legal in England. And he did get freed in the end. His life still destroyed of course. But freed.

1 comment »

September 28th, 2012

Assange

Finally got around to filming one of my gigs. The gig was in Stockholm in front of an audience of mainly swedes wich is always a bit weird but it was still fun. Did a short version of my take on Assange. If you want to read more about the legal stuff regarding that I think this article by David Allen Green pretty much sums it up. There is so much bullshit coming from the Assange-supporters on this I really think people should take the time to read it. People just can’t seem to hold two thoughts in their heads at once. As always. Assange did a lot of really good things. He can still be a horrible person. At the very least he’s a querulant whining little coward.

More clips coming in blog next week. Some stuff I did on #porntrial and the London Olympics and maybe, just maybe some other stuff too if I get around to editing it.

3 comments »

August 27th, 2012

My Fringe is over!

It’s kind of sad to see the Fringe being packed up. Some shows are still running but most of us had our last gig yesterday so signs and posters are being taken down and venues are closing. It’s been a blast this year! Met a lot of old and new friends, had a run of nice shows and managed to get a bunch of nice reviews. Also got to see a few really good shows this time around. Eddie Pepitone was fantastic and so was Stewart Lee. In all a wonderful experience though it was a tiring one. My final tally this time is 30 gigs in 24 days. About half of what I did last time I was over, but a more reasonable amount for somebody my age I think…

I also got to try the Setlist Show wich was a great experience. As you take the stage you get a list of topics that you don’t know before the show and you have to pretend that’s your normal setlist for your normal show. Fucking scary to do that in english. But I think I pulled it off. Would love to do that one again.

Thanks everybody who came to my shows and of course big thanks to Assembly Rooms and The Stand Comedy Club. Best people in the business!

My plan was to film my gigs and put some new stuff on youtube, but as I’m a lazy fuck that didn’t happen. Will probably be doing some gigs in London early september and if I do that, I’ll be sure to bring my camera. Promise.

Oh, also go one last review from The Independent. The Lou Reed of comedy they say. I’m not even sure what that means. But tx, I guess.

Hope to be back at the Fringe next year with a new show. Until then I’m gonna try and tour as much as possible in the UK. Probably doing a run of solo shows in London in october and other stuff will be added too but the few dates that are definite for now are here.

Only one last thing to do here in Edinburgh after we pack our stuff up and that’s go over to The Stand for a wrap-up party and help them drink all their booze.

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August 11th, 2012

My Fringe so far…(reviews and tv)

I’m now about halfway through the Edinburgh Fringe and after an initial incident with an absolutely inhabitable flat and a move to another one I’m enjoying it very much. That may well have to do with the fact that I decided to pace myself a bit this time around. Not partying quite as hard as last time I was over and above all, not do nearly as many gigs. Last time I was over I did 60 gigs in 3 weeks and it led to a serious meltdown. This year I’m focusing on my own solo show and just doing the odd extra gig.

Turnouts for my show has been ok. I think everybody apart from some of the really huge names are struggling this year. Might be the olympics, might be recession or it just might be that there is so bloody much good comedy around that the people here just won’t be enough for everybody. I’ve sure had my fair share though, so I’m happy. Happy with the reviews too. I usually don’t care much for reviews and especially not in Sweden where I, to be honest, don’t need them at all and they’re almost always written by somebody who don’t know comedy. At all. Even if I did need them in Sweden they wouldn’t do me much good anyway since by the time they’re published I’m usually in the next city. The Fringe is a different story. Here you need your reviews to get people in. And I’ve been getting a bunch!

I got 3 stars from Broadway Baby saying i need more structure. Can’t argue with that. If structure is your thing. It’s not mine.

The Skinny gave me 4 stars and told people “A great chance to see a genuinely fantastic comedian in an intimate setting. Raise your expectations.” Thank you very much!

Another 4 star review from The Edinburgh Fringe Show said “Fans of jokes about coffee shops, dogs with funny noses, and cats climbing into boxes are going to squirm in their seats, for everyone else who wants a bit of bite, there’s Magnus Betner.”

And The List said “Betnér may not be a bundle of joy, but his comedy is among the sharpest and most vital on the Fringe.” in their 4 star review. I’m a bundle of joy, am I not? I’m sure enjoying myself at the Fringe, that’s for sure. Been taking Lina to a few shows and to see some street performers. She loves it. If you have a kid at the Fringe and haven’t seen The Amazing Bubble Show it’s well worth a visit. Guess we’ll be doing more of that stuff so if you’re in town and in need for stuff to do with kids, stay tuned to my twitter.

Oh, and my gig tomorrow will be filmed by the BBC for some feature that airs on BBC2  Fri 17th at 11pm if you wanna check that out.

That’s all for now!

Edit:

Had a couple of really nice days celebrating my birthday with my parents and a friend who flew over from Sweden to surprise me. Very nice! Just wanted to update this with the latest links. The BBC thing was good people say, I haven’t watched it but if you want to, do it here.

And I got another nice review today. 4 stars from The Arts Desk who said “Honest, unsettling, and at times brilliantly observed, this is comedy as catharsis”

1 comment »

June 27th, 2012

Home from Canada.

My inserting pictures into a blogpost skills need some work, but what the hell. Haven’t got all day. The trip got off to a very weird and scary start when Helena came in to the green room at Comedy Bar and collapsed between my first two gigs. We had to call an ambulance and get her to the hospital where they kept her over night to cure a lung embolism. Scary stuff! Naturally I cancelled my second gig. Even I don’t go on stage when my girlfriend is rushed to hospital 5 minutes before I’m supposed to go on. At least not in a city where she doesn’t know anybody…  I’m pretty sure the audience survived without me since they got both Rob Mailloux, Brody Stevens and Toronto Batman in the same show. And luckily, Helena survived too.

After that first gig in Toronto we went to Ottawa for a nice gig at a rock club. A late gig at a rock club can be a pretty rowdy affair, but not so this time. Even the MC dressed up as a wrestler couldn’t shift their focus. In all I have to say canadian audiences are the best I’ve ever performed for. Smart, listening and very big fans of comedy in general it seems. Should be expected of course of a country who even put Bill Maher on one of their bills.

After Ottawa we went via Montreal and back to Toronto where I had another strange experience; The weed room. Pot isn’t legal in Canada, but they have “vapor rooms” that the police for some reason turn a blind eye to. Anyway, I was invited to do  a gig at one of those. Pretty small room with a low ceiling and about 50 people in there, all smoking weed. They weren’t the most focused audience I ever had, but then again maybe I wasn’t at the top of my game either after spending a few minutes surrounded by weed smoke… Cheap way to get stoned for sure.

The plan was to write some new stuff for my Edinburgh Fringe show in august but as always partying became the main focus apart from the gigs. Managed to write one new routine that I think will be a killer though… Come to Edinburgh and find out. Big thanks to Rob Mailloux, Kate, Toronto Batman and all the other nice comics and lovely audiences we met. Had a blast! Hope to be back soon. Might be as early as september.

Oh and big thanks to canadian NHS who probably saved Helena from having to fly home in a coffin. We owe you one. Or two…

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May 26th, 2012

Let the fun begin!

Been busy doing tv last few weeks so haven’t gigged much but that’s about to change now. Concentrating on the UK and Canada this summer. First up is a run at Soho Theatre in London where I’m doing 5 solo shows next week. After that I’m headed for Canada to do a couple of shows and after that I hope my new Edinburgh Fringe show is ready. That kicks off in August and I’m spending the entire month in Edinburgh to do my second solo show there. This time at the Assembly Rooms.

Spread the word! Hope to see you at my shows if you’re in any of these places.

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April 13th, 2012

Download my latest comedy special!

80 minutes of brand new material, filmed at a sold out ‘Chinateatern’ in Stockholm on march 27. Avaliable for download HERE
(the show is in swedish but available with English subtitles) and I’ve decided to do it Louis CK style and only release it on my site. Hope you enjoy it!

Note: In case of technical difficulties downloading the files, please send an email to mats@ftwproductions.se with the following information:

1. Name of your ISP
2. Your IP. Visit www.mittip.nu to find out yours.
3. State your order# and the e-mail address used making the purchase

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