Joe Cornish (comedian)

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Joe Cornish

Born
December 20, 1968 London
Occupation
Writer, Director, Comedian, Television Presenter

Joe Cornish (born December 20, 1968) is an English comedian who, along with his long-time comedy partner Adam Buxton, forms one half of the comedy duo Adam and Joe. He was educated at Westminster School in central London, where he became friends with both Adam Buxton and Louis Theroux. He went on to study at the Bournemouth Film School, indulging and cultivating his love of films.

[edit] The Adam and Joe Show

Adam and Joe made a number of short comedy videos, some of which were submitted to Channel 4’s home video showcase Takeover TV in 1994. Their submissions led to them hosting the programme in 1995 and being offered their own show the following year, called The Adam and Joe Show.

The Adam and Joe Show was a heavily-ironic pop culture sketch show written, presented and directed by the duo. The show found considerable cult success during its four series run between 1996 and 2001. The best-known segments featured hit feature films recreated with stuffed toys, British TV shows parodied using Star Wars action figures, and Vinyl Justice, in which the pair invaded rock stars' homes and searched their record collections for embarrassing records.

During this period Adam and Joe hosted a number of Channel 4 specials, including Adam & Joe’s Fourmative Years (1998) and Adam and Joe’s American Animation Adventure (2001). They also directed pop promos for Frank Black and Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, as well as appearing in two Surf washing powder commercials, in which they comically brutalised Lawrence Llewelyn-Bowen, and Keith Harris and Orville.

Adam and Joe won the Royal Television Society Best Newcomers Award in 1998, and published a spin-off book The Adam and Joe Book in 1999. They also wrote material for the BBC Two comedy series Big Train in 1998 and presented BBC Three’s coverage of the Glastonbury Festival in 2000 and 2002, as well as their coverage of the Fuji Rock Festival in 2001.

[edit] Post-The Adam and Joe Show

Since the demise of The Adam and Joe Show, Cornish has continued to work in British television and radio as a presenter, writer and director, both with and without Buxton. In 2001 he fronted the topical discussion show This Week Only, alongside Nick Frost and Lauren Laverne. He also wrote and presented the BBC Radio 4 film programme Back Row between 2002 and 2003.

In 2003, Buxton and Cornish presented Adam and Joe Go Tokyo for BBC3, a Tokyo based magazine show covering Japanese pop culture. In the same year they began hosting a show on UK radio station XFM, filling in for Ricky Gervais on Saturday afternoons. When Gervais left the station they took over permanently, and continued to present a two hour Saturday morning show and a popular podcast until the end of their most recent run in 2006.

The Adam and Joe DVD, containing highlights from the original four series, was released in 2004. Cornish has also made a behind the scenes documentary following the making of Little Britain series 2, which was screened on BBC Three and is included on the Little Britain Series 2 DVD, and a video diary of his brief cameo as a zombie, which appears on the UK Shaun of the Dead DVD.

He has continued his work in television comedy, directing parts of the pilot of Modern Toss, and the pilot to Channel 4's Blunder. According to an interview in Word Magazine he pulled out of directing the series of Blunder due to creative differences with Channel 4 and the production company.

Cornish has, however, recently been involved with several non-comedy projects. In 2006 he was announced as co-writer on a feature film adaptation of Marvel comic book character Ant-Man, with Shaun of the Dead director Edgar Wright. The film is currently scheduled for release in 2008. He also makes a brief appearance in Wright's film Hot Fuzz as a CSI officer. In early 2007 he directed the video for Charlotte Hatherley's single 'I Want You To Know'. Cornish and Buxton also host the "Coca-Cola New Music Podcast", which showcases unsigned bands from around Europe.