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Multi-award-winning
comedian Jimmy Carr is to be the first major comedian ever to perform a
virtual reality gig with an exclusive one-off performance in the
hugely-popular online world of Second Life on Saturday 3rd February 2007
(www.secondlife.com).
With his trademark one-liners and gags ranging from the slick to the
downright sick, the charming comic with the scathing tongue escapes the
restraints of the ‘real world’ and takes his dry and sardonic style
to a whole new level in front of an exclusive audience of competition
winners at a top secret London location. Simultaneously, Jimmy will be
performing to a select audience on the virtual reality world of Second
Life, delivering the latest material from his British Comedy
Award-winning tour, Gag Reflex.
Second Life is a hugely popular online community in which real-life
users can develop virtual reality alter-egos and interact with other
users. Its members total over 2.1 million (37% of which are British) and
are able to invest real-world money into buying property, land,
accessories and businesses. The membership is growing at an astonishing
rate of 38% a month and the software has become so popular that
companies such as the BBC, Reuters and Toyota have invested heavily into
developing a presence within its community.
Jimmy’s virtual alter-ego will be performing to a select group of
community members, chosen via a competition into which all Second Life
members can enter. Starting with a series of photographs and sensors,
Jimmy will be modelled in 3D prior to the event using the latest hi-tech
gadgetry of digital agency Fusion Unity (www.fusionunity.co.uk). |
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being developed into a fully-fledged virtual alter-ego, or ‘avatar’,
performers will trace Jimmy’s movements and translate them into the
movements of his character; enabling him to interact with other virtual
audience members just like he would in a real gig.
Jimmy’s
Second Life show promises to be a world-first for a comedian of his
profile, demonstrating the possibilities of this new media and opening
the potential for comedy and other areas of entertainment to develop
further online.
Outside of the digital sphere, 2006 has been another hectic year for
Jimmy. As well as writing his first book titled The Naked Jape,
(released by Penguin books in the US in November), Jimmy completed his
third solo Edinburgh Festival show, Gag Reflex, in August and has
launched a nation-wide stand-up tour between which runs through to next
summer, details of which can be found on www.jimmycarr.com. This comes
in addition to further US appearances on Tonight with Jay Leno and Late
Night with Conan O’Brien.
Continuing to be a huge ratings winner with over 3.5m viewers tuning in
to its Friday night edition, Jimmy continues to host a fourth series of
hit Channel 4 prime-time TV show Eight out of Ten Cats. Recently Jimmy
has made three appearances on the big screen; starring in Brit comedy
Confetti, in Alien Autopsy alongside Ant & Dec and in Stormbreaker.
In July this year Jimmy performed at the third Montreal ‘Just for
Laughs’ Comedy Festival, where his stand up was hailed as “beyond
jolly good” by critics.
In the US, Jimmy’s profile continues to grow. The second series of his
game show Distraction aired on Comedy Central earlier this year, and is
currently being repeated. Jimmy has also appeared three times on NBC’s
flagship programme The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and twice on NBC’s
Late Night with Conan O’Brien.
Over the past few years, Jimmy has deservedly earned his place amongst
the premiere league of British comics. Jimmy’s stand-up achievements
include a Perrier Award nomination, Best Stand Up at the Time Out Awards
and Best on Screen Newcomer from the Royal Television Society. Jimmy’s
other TV accolades include the prestigious Silver Rose of Montreux award
and a Rose d’Or nomination for best gameshow host at this year’s
awards. This year, Jimmy won a British Comedy Award in the Best Stand-Up
Show category. |
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