You heard it here. The man who founded the Colbert Nation will get an ego boost this February. At the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival (USCAF) in Aspen, CO, Stephen Colbert will be honored with the fest’s first-ever Person of the Year Award. The man who turned himself into his greatest character, a far far right wing political spokesman, first showed off his character as a correspondent on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Back then, most would have guessed this correspondent wouldn’t be able to survive in his own half-hour news series. Were they ever wrong. After its initial two weeks, The Colbert Report’s strong ratings quickly prompted Comedy Central to sign the show on for a full season and then some. It seems that these days viewers can’t get enough political humor in their lives.
The award is not without its own comedic twist. Festival organizers said, the Person of the Year Award is “the most important contributor to life in America in the past year, having exhibited such great accomplishment that they have affected or made history.” Colbert, always true to his character, accepted his award jokingly stating, “I am humbled to be part of the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival’s tireless efforts to bring joy to the wealthy.”
The UCAF begins on Feb. 24 and continues through March 4. This years festival “showcases comedic shorts from around the world and encourages viewers to participate in The Screening Room, a section of the site to rate, review and truly be responsible for what gets programmed.” Prizes include meetings with HBO Films and USCAF film production executives. Submissions will be accepted now through March 1st at Funnypictureshow.com.
Oh man, I want to see his acceptance speech!
A well deserved award for a great man