An upstart Quebec comedy festival is adding some major muscle to its management team as it attempts to compete with Just For Laughs.
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Andy Nulman, a Montreal comedy scene stalwart, has joined the new Festival du rire de Montréal, organized by several dozen mainly francophone comedians.
“This is a strange and tough time,” he told Global News.
“I think, once things settle, it’s going be a whole lot better for everyone — and a whole lot funnier.”
An announcement about the new bash came amid the recent sex-assault controversy involving Just for Laughs founder Gilbert Rozon.
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Nulman, a key architect of Just for Laughs, made the association official Wednesday.
“How does one feel when they’re at a company for a number of years , they leave for three or four years and then join somebody in the competitive space? You know, it happens every day,” he said.
WATCH BELOW: Andy Nulman talks joining the new Festival du Rire de Montréal
In a statement to Global News, Just for Laughs representatives insisted Nulman’s “decision to join this coalition has no bearing on our operations.”
Representatives from the new festival say Nulman has a solid background in the English-speaking comedy world and will act as a consultant.
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Yet, some wonder if there’s room for two comedy festivals in Montreal.
“The sponsors, the talent, the government agencies are going to pick sides and with Andy Nulman, it’s a big plus for the Festival du Rire,” said HEC business professor Renaud Legoux.
The festival hopes to hold its first edition in 2018.
— with files from The Canadian Press.
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