Can you name an active comedy franchise? This is a text Matt Belloni has sent to multiple film executives and producers. Chris Bender—co-producer of the original ‘American Pie,’ and E.P. on the ‘Hangover’ franchise, among many others—had coincidentally just written himself a memo on all the reasons comedies have disappeared from theaters and some ideas on how to save them. The raunchy, #JuddApatow-ian films that dominated the mid-aughts box office and spawned a generation of comedy stars have gone the way of iPods and skinny jeans. Critics blame everything from Covid to cancel culture, but the real culprit is more insidious: comedies in theaters are no longer a good bet. Read more at the link in bio.