INTERVIEW: Director John Wager, "Comedy Warriors"

Director John Wager is not only a Grammy-award winning producer and composer for film and television and an accomplished musician and songwriter, he has also worked with countless celebrities, everyone from Oprah Winfrey, and Kevin Spacey to Magic Johnson and Reba McEntire. He recently received high accolades for "Bicycle Lessons," a documentary that aired on the Discovery Channel and has been prominently featured in film festivals throughout the U.S. and Europe. But the documenatry he directed, "Comedy Warriors: Healing Through Humor," already is making a big splash after its premier at the Palm Beach International Film Festival. Working with Wounded Warrior Project, he had the opportunity to film hundreds of hours of interviews with injured service members. Through that experience, he created this full-length documentary. It follows five severely injured service members embarking on a new and challenging journey as they write and perform stand-up comedy with the help of the best in the business, comedians like Lewis Black, Zach Galifianakis, B.J. Novak and Bob Saget. As part of the film the warriors also tell their poignant stories of what they have gone through and the role that humor plays in their rehabilitation. The film culminates in a live performance event at top Los Angeles comedy clubs,The Improv and the Laugh Factory. <

John Wager