Tim League: Roasted at the Out Of Bounds Comedy Festival

No, not so we can, like, eat him or anything.
Not a literal roast, gah, don't be disgusting.

You know: A comedy roast, where a bunch of professional wise-asses honor some celebrated mover & shaker in the community by insulting that person almost to the point of tears. And then, at the end, still metaphorically hemorrhaging from all the clever lacerations, the roastee becomes the roaster and wreaks verbal payback on the panel of tormentors.

It's merry, it's merciless, and this year at the Out Of Bounds Comedy Festival the honored target is Tim League of the rapidly embiggening Alamo Drafthouse Cinema empire. And, following the tradition established during the first two annual OOB roasts, the Roastmaster will again be that Esther's Follies showman and general curly-headed comedic bad-ass, Ted Meredith. So, what can we expect snarkwise from this brutal and (we'll bet) hilarious spectacle at the Stateside-at-the-Paramount venue on Thursday night? Is League gonna be … an easy target?

"I don't know if there is such a thing as an easy target when it comes to a roast," says Meredith, "because nobody wants to be the one making the obvious joke. You want to cut deep, you want to go for blood, and – if you're even slightly as egotistical as I am – you want people coming for you as hard and brutal as they can, so you can say, "Is that all you got, Bitch?!" And then turn around and eviscerate them with your own retort. It's the nearest comedians get to a jousting tournament. Or maybe it's more like NASCAR: Sure, you want the jokes slinging around at 200 mph, but you're really there to see the crash. And hopefully everyone walks away from the wreckage with little more than a few bruises and a wicked adrenaline rush."

Among the roasters lambasting Austin's Favorite Movie Mogul: Owen Egerton, Curtis Luciani, Amy Averett, Henri Mazza, Lance Gilstrap, and Ryan Willingham. Participation by the Chronicle's own Richard Whittaker and that now-freelancing Marc Savlov is still in the works.

[Note: At press time, efforts to locate and recruit the hapless young woman featured in Alamo preshow spots – you know, the "Magnited States of America" rant – have been sadly in vain. But we're hoping that she'll make a surprise appearance.]

"Just to spite Tim," says Meredith, "I think we'll be strongly encouraging texting throughout the event. Just not during my bits."