Louis C.K. and Andrew Dice Clay Join Woody Allen's Next

Years before Woody Allen became basically the most prolific filmmaker to ever exist, he was making his way through the entertainment industry as a stand-up comedian, so he knows the art of crafting a joke, and he should have a good idea of how to best utilize the talents of those weird weekend warriors who travel from town to town projecting their neuroses onto random strangers in seedy nightclubs. That?s why it is so exciting that it?s just been announced that two of the most successful stand-up comedians of all time have signed on to be a part of his latest film.

Woody?s new project doesn?t have a title yet, but what?s known about it is that it?s being filmed in New York and San Francisco over the summer. Also, we now know the names that make up its cast. In a press release put out earlier today ,it was announced that big names like Alec Baldwin and Cate Blanchett made the list, as well as some solid but lesser-known names like Michael Emerson, Sally Hawkins, and Peter Sarsgaard; but the most interesting part of the casting announcement was the inclusion of comedians Louis C.K. and Andrew Dice Clay.

While Louis and the Diceman may currently enjoy differing levels of reverence in the comedy community, there?s no denying that each of them have made it to the tippy-top of the world of stand-up comedy and enjoyed levels of success that very few funnymen ever do. Louis is currently in the prime of his career, selling out wherever he goes and making so much money on the release of Internet specials that he has to give a bunch of it away, but Clay reached a level of success and notoriety in the late ?80s that has maybe never been matched by any other mic jockey since. People might not have much respect for his foul-mouthed nursery rhymes when looking back at them now, but in his prime Dice was like Dane Cook and that guy with the puppets put together. He was everywhere.

The most notable difference between the two stand-ups ? as far as their casting in this film goes ? is their varying levels of success when stepping off the stage and in front of a camera. Louis C.K.?s FX show Louis is one of the best reviewed, most respected, and most experimental shows on television, and Andrew Dice Clay is probably best known for starring in The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, which?wasn?t a success. It will be interesting to see what Woody does with two men who have very well-established public personas, and who you would think would be best served playing to their archetypes rather than trying to do something drastically different. Which will prove their dominance when working in Woody?s world? My money is on Cate Blanchett. [via Deadline Beechtree]

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