The year 2020 is so rich in unpleasant surprises in all areas that social media memes have tied the popular titles “Directed by Robert B. Weide” to its scenario. Every active Internet user knows this phrase on a black background with a characteristic melody. She ends any stalemate caught on video.

Where did the “Directed by Robert B. Weide” meme come from

Curiosities, like a ridiculous fiasco of a person or a stupid combination of circumstances, it has become customary to beat the famous credits on the network. The first author of such a meme, or in Russian – a joke, was a YouTube video blogger Jake Rasmussen. In 2015, he edited the awkward ending to the Miss Universe beauty pageant. The feil was that the host of the awards ceremony, Steve Harvey, mixed up the name of the true winner.

Two girls reached the final of the competition: actress from the Philippines Pia Wurtzbach and model from Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez. First, the Filipino was announced and even put on the coveted crown, but then Steve apologized and called the Colombian “Miss Universe”. The frame with the removal of the symbol of beauty due to an unfortunate mistake was supplemented with captions at the right time. This video remix was followed by other YouTubers who began to add the final episode to other funny absurdities.

Source for funny videos: Directed by Robert B. Weide movie with credits

Before Russia, a wave of using video sequences with the words “Director Robert B. Weide” in memes reached the beginning of 2019. Throughout the next year, Instagram, VKontakte and other networks abounded with jokes with unsuccessful endings. Montage authors even looked to the Clarendon font to adapt the text in their content to the popular style. Bloggers and viners were interested in what film became the ancestor of these credits. There was not a single community left where a recognizable fragment would not be used.

The source was an American television series from the HBO studio called Curb Your Enthusiasm. According to Wikipedia, the sitcom started in October 2000 and consists of 10 seasons. An international rating of 8.7 and a final production date has yet to be fixed. The series was created by a team of producers, chief among which is Larry David. He also plays the main role.

The essence of comedy consists of a series of awkward situations in the ordinary life of the hero. It is after another failure of Larry that the episode abruptly ends with recognizable credits. The sitcom was directed by Robert Widee. In total, the film crew of directors included 15 people, but according to the priority rules, it is Robert who is the first in the off-screen text.

After the video memes, the screen with the already famous words began to be added to the photo jokes of social networks. The picture became so viral that it was attributed to those illustrations that automatically “turn on” the melody in the viewer’s head. The original author is the French composer Luciano Michelini, who wrote it long before the birth of most meme creators. It happened in 1974. Then the musician played it on the piano and called it “Frolic”, which translates as “playfulness”.

The creator of the melody did not participate in the production of the television series Curb Your Enthusiasm. Moreover, 25 years have passed since the release date of the work. He was surprised that the sitcom’s working group was interested in whether the composer was alive at the time of the purchase of the track. The elderly Frenchman expressed his gratitude that the soundtrack of his authorship resonated with the generation of the 21st century. Michelini himself has seen memes with a famous intro and finds them very funny.

Reaction from director Robert Weide

Unlike the composer, Robert B. Weide was not initially happy that his name went viral on social media. Often, videos show very stupid and even dangerous situations. Ridiculous falls of cats or children, ridiculous slips of the tongue and curious accidents on the roads – all this is backed up by words with his name.

In 2020, viners from Russia dubbed all the events related to the collapse of the economy, the behavior of the president and the epidemic directed by Robert Widee. On his Twitter, the American wrote a request not to associate him with everything that happens in the world. However, he appreciated the joke and posted his photo in a T-shirt with the inscription “Directed by Robert B. Weide”.

About 25,000 users have subscribed to the American filmmaker’s Facebook. At first, he tried to explain to them that he had nothing to do with the production of video memes. To which he received the assurance that the audience honors him and is grateful for the inspiration for comedic creativity.