Tag: interview

Trailer Park: Patton Oswalt

By Christopher Stipp

The Archives, Right Here

I was able to sit down for a couple of years and pump out a book. It’s got little to do with movies. Download and read “Thank You, Goodnight” right HERE for free.

And now, you can follow me on TWITTER under the name: Stipp

PATTON OSWALT – INTERVIEW

Patton Oswalt wrote an excellent and impassioned thought piece about the recent WATCHMEN film and, in the same article, had a lot to say about the culture of geeks/nerds. He is one of us, if there is such a moniker that could somehow be conferred on to someone, and Patton has had the kind of career many other actors and performers only wish they could. On a stage, in front of the camera, behind a microphone in a recording booth Patton has conquered every medium put before him. Primarily known for his comedy and comedic strengths Patton took advantage of the opportunity to push that aside for his role as Paul Aufiero in Robert Siegel’s new film, BIG FAN, where he plays a deeply devoted New York Giants fan and is willing to call into a radio talk show on a regular basis to proudly extol the awesomeness of a football team who doesn’t even know he exists.

The film is a mediation on the nature of fanaticism, to some extent, and it’s bold in how it challenges your preconceived notions about the kinds of parts Patton can play. BIG FAN shows how much range he has as a serious actor and hopefully it brings more people to the yard to hear what he has to say.

The film recently debuted to critical and audience praise in both New York and California and it is rolling out to more theaters as the weeks go on. For a listing of where it might be playing near you see BIG FAN’s Now Playing page for more information.

PATTON OSWALT: Hi Chris.

CHRISTOPHER STIPP: Hi,Patton. How as press day been?

OSWALT: Oh boy!

CS: I’m going to try and avoid all the questions you’ve had to answer a million times.

OSWALT: (Laughs)

CS: I’m going to try really hard…This is how I’m going to lead it off. This movie is not the TAXI DRIVER everyone is comparing it to. I think it’s closer to KING OF COMEDY.

OSWALT: Oh wow. Thank you. Good Lord. Thank you.

CS: I think it’s precisely that. I shouldn’t say that people are ignoring that comparison but I think it’s appropriate because it shows how a person can just devolve into their own self and shut out the rest of the world to rational thinking.

OSWALT: Well, Robert captured all that in the script and I just hope that I was up to the task of the script.

CS: That was one of the funny things I found out about you that you were so self-aware about doing something like this and that RATATOUILLE liberated you from thinking that you could do it. How did you approach thinking that “That this is the script…I want to do it…”? I know he came to you with it, but what did you think when you got the script?

OSWALT: It was the act of him coming to me to do the movie that gave me confidence that I could do it. He had written such a good script. He’s such a good writer. His instincts to be there for that meant a lot to me that he thought I could pull this off. It just gave me confidence.

CS: Robert was saying that some people saw it as a comedy but you saw something else in this story. What else did you see in this story?

OSWALT: I don’t think he ever saw it as a comedy.

CS: No, but some other people did.

OSWALT: Oh yeah. I think what I saw in this story was kind of a guy that maybe we glance at once and move along from. And he was like, “Wait a minute. What’s that guy’s story.” I love that someone can look at a part of the world that we tend to, not so much but we don’t have to explore any deeper. And Robert says, “Well, what is there?” So that to me that we would delve into something that might not be there was very exciting.

CS: When you were getting ready to do this, at what point did Kevin Corrigan come into it as your sort of partner in crime? He does an amazing job.

OSWALT: I think he was booked right along with me. He and I signed on at the same time, so right from the get-go, there he was. It worked out perfectly.

CS: The movie’s theme. I think it’s rather poignant the idea of obsession, of a guy who is living in his own mind. When you see the film now completed as it is, did it capture everything that you saw on the page?

OSWALT: Yes. And I think they found even more stuff that wasn’t on the page. Michael Simmonds, the cinematographer who paid attention to Staten Island and shot all these amazing angles, just a different way of looking at it. I think they got everything they wanted and more.

CS: Did everything on the page come out of it? You hear a lot these days of people doing what they want, improvising, having minimal guidance…

OSWALT: I’m not a big fan of that. I like the script to be as good as it can from the get go.

CS: And hard was it for you to come up with the persona of the radio call-in kind of guy?

OSWALT: It wasn’t really that hard. It was hard to suppress, because of my insecurities, my wanting to bring in the comedy. That was the hardest thing to begin with and then I was just able to fall into it easier than I thought I would. It was exciting.

CS: What kind of insecurities? You’ve got, not to put you over, but as I was getting prepared I didn’t realize how rich of a resume you now have.

OSWALT: Most of my comedy comes from those insecurities. Comedy is what I turn to to be comfortable and to give that up for a whole movie was very unnerving at first.

CS: Can you explain how gritty ““ the way Darren shot THE WRESTLER ““ did Robert explain the way he wanted to shot it, sort of 70’s, sort of gritty, cinema style?

OSWALT: We had talked about these kinds of movies and how much we loved that period of film making. Especially at that time of year, being grey and overcast, they captured it perfectly.

CS: They did. Especially the parking lot scene at the beginning. It looks like it’s fucking cold out there.

OSWALT: It was. It was fucking freezing.

CS: It captures ““ no Hollywood glossiness, let’s put you in a warm trailer and kick your ass out and then put you back in.

OSWALT: There were no trailers.

CS: That was my next question about the production of the film. How does it compare ““ well, it doesn’t compare, Rob said he wanted to do this one way or another? How was the production life?

OSWALT: We didn’t have any facilities. We had to borrow locations and change in the back of vans. No dressing rooms. Waited in cars between shots. There was nothing.

CS: Really? How long was the shoot?

OSWALT: 23 days.

CS: 23 days? Oh my god. Was there any concern that this film ““ it didn’t have distribution before it was shot? It was a wing and a prayer that it was going to get made and get picked up?

OSWALT: Exactly. We had no idea. We didn’t know if we would have money to complete it let alone get distribution. I looked at it like this was just something I wanted to do for myself. The rest was secondary.

CS: That blows my mind. Not a lot of people would stick their neck out and say, you weren’t wasting anything but you were going to give up those days just to do this movie that you believed in. Do you find that there is a lot of that sort of passion for films out nowadays like that?

OSWALT: Well, that passion is there but it’s hard to find those movies because a lot of those kinds of movies don’t get the distribution they deserve. They don’t get the attention they deserve. It’s out there. You just have to search for it. There is all kinds of passion, both as an actor and as a movie buff.

CS: Do you get those kinds of scripts? I know Robert had you in mind to do this but do you get scripts like this often?

OSWALT: No, I don’t. This was a gift from out of nowhere. It was great.

CS: When you do take a project, what is your criteria? Does it have to move you?

OSWALT: I don’t want to make a lot of money or have a lot of fun and do something interesting. I work for the antidotes. To me I can either work on a great film or work on a movie that could be a disaster they are equally exciting to me. I just want a lot of experiences which is what I would be happy with at the end of my life.

CS: When you do films and you are doing a film like this when you can’t go to your comedic crutch, is that hard to suppress? Was it hard to just do it as you are supposed to?

OSWALT: Initially, yes. It was hard to bite down on that instinct but after a while it came natural which shows how good the script was.

September 8, 2009
Trailer Park: Robert Siegel

By Christopher Stipp

The Archives, Right Here

I was able to sit down for a couple of years and pump out a book. It’s got little to do with movies. Download and read “Thank You, Goodnight” right HERE for free.

And now, you can follow me on TWITTER under the name: Stipp

I am a big girl.

I barely have a grasp on the latest happenings with the Chicago Cubs and, even then, I am about as sure in the things I talk about as Bernie Madoff is about how many smokes a day it’ll take to keep his cellmate at bay. I’m a disgrace to my gender and no one needs to remind me more than the real men I have lunch with on a daily basis who turn sports talk into a art, weaving statistics, opinions and Monday morning quarterbacking into something that I cannot ever hope to comprehend. I am missing that gene. Leave it to Scott Ferrall, the high octane motormouth on Sirius Satellite Radio, who has a nightly sports talk radio show that helps deficient, causal sports fans and die-hards alike make sense of the world of sports. It’s explosive, fun and the aspersions that are cast at sports players, teams and fans of those teams are enough to make you wonder what some of these callers into the program are like once the bread and circuses are over for the night.

BIG FAN by Robert Siegel, writer of last year’s Academy Award nominated film THE WRESTLER, does just that. It explores the life of one such fan, Paul Aufiero (Patton Oswalt), who is a regular caller into a sports talk show program, Scotty Ferrall playing a vocal part in the film as an irascible sports talk show host and who welcomes Paul’s passionate and insulting musings, and follows him after the radio turns off. The film is a delicate portrait into the mind of a man who loves his team so much he builds his sense of self and identity around it. When things happen that threaten to derail that passion the film only gets better and it is, again, a quiet exploration of adoration and what it can do. I had the chance to talk to Robert Siegel a couple of weeks ago and here’s the result.

BIG FAN is now playing and is expanding to more theaters this fall.

CHRISTOPHER STIPP: I love this movie. And it seems to be a real hit with those that have come in contact with it and I wanted to start off by talking about how close the grittiness feel the way the film looks like THE WRESTLER. It has that, I don’t want to say, dirty quality, but it’s so close to reality. Can you talk about that?

ROBERT SIEGEL: Sure. That’s the style I like best when I watch a movie. I don’t like things to feel Hollywood slick and unrealistic. So that was definitely deliberate. I think of the two movies, I think they could exist in the same universe almost as if they could both be happening at the same time in different parts of town. I sent one camera crew out to a wrestling ring in New Jersey to follow Randy the Ram and meanwhile over to Stanton Island to follow Paul Aufiero do his thing. But, that kind of vibe is what I’m into most.

Everything in both movies is shot on location. We used real people. A mix of professionals and non-professionals. We used real rooms. The room that was Paul Aufiero’s room was actually a real guy’s room and most of the stuff on the wall is the guy’s stuff. His stack of CD’s and the piles of old lottery tickets and the clippings on the wall, it feels like a very real, lived in room with that kind of detail. I find it hard to take when movies and on TV when the room is fake. You can tell if it’s just art direction and when it’s just real. It’s hard to fake the accumulation of crap that a room will accumulate in the course of a real person’s life.

CS: I have to say it was a real master stroke that Patton does as well as he does and I would never have figured him to be such an arresting actor as he does with this film and I’m curious, from your perspective, and obviously you are the guy who took this from idea to film: a) what did you see in Patton that made you think that this guy was perfect for it and b) the idea for this film and where it came from. Throughout…I was reminded a little bit of KING OF COMEDY.

SIEGEL: Definitely. One of the movies that it is compared to. Well, on your first question for starters I wanted somebody who looked right. I had a very clear idea in my head. When you write a character you picture that character and I pictured him roughly looking like Patton Oswalt. I wasn’t writing it with Patton specifically in mind. I actually wrote it years ago. Years before I ever thought of Patton in the role. I knew I didn’t want to cast just some generic good looking Hollywood actor who I would then ask to gain 7 pounds for the role and then mess up his hair a little bit. And then viola. Or pick somebody who’s maybe not George Clooney but certainly not a real regular guy. I didn’t want to go that kind of route. I didn’t set out to cast a dramatic actor per se or comedian. I feel sometimes that comedians are cast in dramatic roles, it’s almost more stunt casting. It just so happened that he was a comedian and if anything I felt understood psychology of a guy like Patton.

I don’t know if you are a fan of his stand up. He’s not a sports fan but understands the psychology of obsession. There’s not that big a difference is what the Giants did on 4th and goal vs. ranting about the comic book equivalent. From what I can tell Patton is a big comic book-phile, not a sports guy. I didn’t have him read for the part. I just hired him. It was something of a leap of faith. He’s such an intelligent guy. When I first met with him we had a long conversation about 70’s movies and people have different reactions to the script and people read it and think it’s a comedy. And it could have been.

I could have taken the same set of problems and turned it into a comedy but. And some people see the movie and think it’s a comedy. I know there are character studies that is a comedy and has drama in it. I think he got that. The type of movie ““ like KING OF COMEDY and a some of Scorcesse’s and Robert Altman.

[Robert is called away for a moment]

SIEGEL: Where were we?

CS: We were talking about the influences of the film of where you sensibility came into making the film. Could you speak a little bit about the way you wanted to carry the tone of the film?

SIEGEL: I wanted it to be dramatic and I wanted it to be funny. I think in real life ““ most drama doesn’t contain much humor ““ so I came to it as a movie buff and tried to incorporate both. As an example, something like GOODFELLAS, a very funny movie, but very real. BOOGIE NIGHTS is another one of my favorite movies. THERE WILL BE BLOOD in a weird way is another very funny movie. I like things that feel like they exist in the real world. Pretty and real but also really funny and earthy. So, a lot of that stuff happened in the 70’s and I’m definitely a 70’s guy. I’m a Robert Altman fan. I like stuff that is quirky but has entertainment value. I don’t like art films. I’m not a big Montriere fan.

CS: We’ve got two to compare. We have THE WRESTLER and now BIG FAN. It seems you want to base these movies in an actual universe where it’s not fantastical.

SIEGEL: I don’t think I could write one of those movies. I would if I could but I don’t think I’d be good at it.

CS: One of the questions I had for you was that, your work on The Onion was just wacky, off the wall sort of satirical. How has that informed your work now?

SIEGEL: It’s wacky but it’s also very observational. Most of it’s rooted in real world observation. Not to be pretentious but a lot is rooted in observations in the psychology in human nature, little tiny life observations. It’s also kind of similar when you look at The Onion and say how did The Onion guy write THE WRESTLER or BIG FAN? I think The Onion is a mix of comedy and tragedy. A lot of The Onion has an undercurrent of depressing ““ it was comedy with a sub-text of tragedy. I think the stuff I’m doing now more tragedy with a sub-text of comedy. That’s really a question of the ratio. Maybe one is 80% funny and 20% sad and now I’m doing stuff that 80% sad and 20% funny. But The Onion to me was always a mix. A mix of real life.

CS: And I have to commend your use of Scotty Ferrall ““ I’m a big fan of his. It’s part of the way you sort of launched Patton’s character ““ the guy who would be one of those guys who would call into a show like that. Did it all germinate from that idea of these guys who are so fanatical about sports teams in general? Or did it always start out this way?

SIEGEL: Sports radio is where the movie starts. Listening to sports radio, I used to listen to WFAN religiously and I still listen to sports radio but not religiously as I did back then and when you listen to it you hear these callers and you got to know them because they would call every night. And then you couldn’t help but wonder what their lives were like and where they were living. Most of those guys were the guys that populated the movies that I loved. The guys you would hear, Murray from Regal Park, or Joe from Flushing, calling on the FAN. Probably the kind of guys that wouldn’t hang out in the bar on Mean Street. They are just regular guys from outer burrow New York. So the movie is definitely a fusion of my level of listening to the radio, listening to sports radio but also these kinds of character studies that I got into when I was probably a teen-ager. It’s definitely a personal movie for me.

CS: And the fanaticism that is instilled in these guys, I don’t want to say frightening, I respect it on one hand, I’m a huge Cubs fan but I know that there are people out there that are really into it. Is that something you wanted to do ““ delve into the pathos of the people who really devote their minutes to obsessing over these things that don’t love them back?

SIEGEL: Yes. I’m interested in obsession and fanaticism for whatever reason it’s a really compelling theme and subject for me. On the original poster I made for Big Fan there was a tag line, it said Big Fan ““ a tale of unrequited love – which is kind of how I also see the movie, as a love story between Paul and the team. Paul’s kind of a jilted lover and the team ““ what do you do when the thing you love most doesn’t love you back? Maybe it’s just my version of FATAL ATTRACTION.

(Laughs)

I don’t know. It’s just an interesting theme for me. Hopefully I’ll think of something else next time. But people that are passionate I think are more interesting that people that are not passionate.

CS: I know our time is short but I would like to ask you a technical question about you now taking the reigns as director. You got to work with, and with no hyperbole, one of the best directors of our time, and was rewarded handsomely with the love that THE WRESTLER got. What did you take away from that set going forward in your own career?

SIEGEL: I definitely admire and respect the way Darren stuck to his guns in casting Mickey.

It was an inspiring thing to witness. Nobody wanted to make the movie with Mickey Rourke and he was just the biggest liability. He just could not get funding with Mickey Rourke. They said if you want to make this movie with Nick Cage, we’ll give you 5 times as much money. But Darren held fast and said no. The only person who is going to make this movie work is Mickey.

And he was absolutely right. I took that lesson to heart. And I think in a way of casting Patton, I definitely had to do some thinking about that. Just make the movie really good. Don’t get caught up in getting a big star. It just makes it uncompromising. So, I knew if I just made a good movie the rest will take care of itself and be a bigger movie in the end. But if you put a bigger actor in there, you’d have just a so-so movie.

September 8, 2009
Trailer Park: Bobcat Goldthwait

By Christopher Stipp

The Archives, Right Here

I was able to sit down for a couple of years and pump out a book. It’s got little to do with movies. Download and read “Thank You, Goodnight” right HERE for free.

And now, you can follow me on TWITTER under the name: Stipp

Item #1 – HOW BRUCE LEE CHANGED THE WORLD

For those of us who love Bruce Lee’s influence on modern Asian cinema you’ve probably seen many incarnations of program in some form or another. Like an 80’s DJ who is ultimately limited by the fact that there is a finite number of tracks they can play, there seems to have been so much overlap with footage we’ve seen with regard to the man who was wickedly charismatic and destined for far more than we were given.

Thankfully, as I watched HOW BRUCE LEE CHANGED THE WORLD, I was treated to something far more than just a documentary. It’s a retrospective, a tribute, to the man who sat on a talk show talking about water and tea pots in a way that communicated everything he was about: intensity, passion and philosophy. The program, even though it includes interview footage from folks ranging from Brett Ratner to RZA who compares Lee almost to a deity, looks to couch Lee’s influence in today’s marketplace.

Sure, not everyone rocking posters of Enter the Dragon on their walls can really appreciate what Bruce brought into the sphere of the martial arts but how his presence in films opened the door to so many performers and projects. While the documentary lacks some real dynamic qualities (the Rush Hour vibe having Chan and Ratner both contribute to this make it a little uneven and not everything flows together as interspersed film clips and interviews make for a little jarring experience) this is overall a very good modern take on what Bruce Lee meant to the world of entertainment and the martial arts.

HISTORYâ„¢ PRESENTS AN ABSORBING, BEHIND-THE-SCENES LOOK AT A MARTIAL ARTS LEGEND AND INTERNATIONAL ICON

Gain fascinating new insight into the life of the Bruce Lee, as HISTORYâ„¢ presents HOW BRUCE LEE CHANGED THE WORLD , a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the martial arts superstar and international icon. An intimate, feature-length portrait of the man who popularized martial arts around the world like no other, this compelling profile goes from the sets of his classic Kung Fu films to the confines of his Dojo and is enlivened with rare home movies and in-depth interviews with martial artists such as Chuck Norris, filmmakers such as John Woo, Ang Lee and Quentin Tarantino and co-stars, such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who faced Lee in the memorable blockbuster Enter the Dragon.

Item #2 – ART OF WAR

Some of you may know of Sun Tzu’s Art of War from its many incarnations from how it plunder’s Tzu’s theories on warfare and misappropriated them for self-help books all the way to manuals on how to get ahead in business. These derivative works are appallingly poor interpretations for what is, really, a how-to on using philosophy and intelligence to win battle.

I don’t begrudge people looking for a way to apply almost 2,500 years-old techniques to out-playing and out-thinking your opponent but we’ve come a long way since then and I’m amazed that no one has taken this man’s life and made it a film. To that end, however, is this brilliant disc that runs over an hour and a half and brings to modern living color the very things that made this man legendary. This careful recreation of Sun Tzu’s life, to its extrapolation of his ideas to the modern conflicts of WWII, Vietnam and the Civil War illustrate why he is still talked about as the man who was one of the first to crystallize the chaos of the battlefield. This program finally puts a visual twist on a story that is well over two millenniums old.

Skip the books, buy this instead.

Product Description:

THE TRUE STORY OF HISTORY’S ULTIMATE VICTORY MANUAL

Sun Tzu was the Nostradamus of warfare, and his book Art of War, written 2,400 years ago, is still the ultimate how-to book for winning. This feature-length special brings his words to life. Shot like a graphic novel, ART OF WAR weaves together several epic stories, including the story of Sun Tzu himself, and a war soon after his death where a city is saved using his tactics as China takes the first step toward unification. The program also follow other epic battles in history — Roman battles, The Civil War, WWII, and present day — that illustrate more of Sun Tzu’s lessons, to detail how the people who understand his strategy are the most dangerous weapons of all. And while his ideals were originally created for battle, his lessons could be used by anyone who wants to win –whether at sports, business, or life.

Item #3 – FIGHTING GIVEAWAY

Who here wants to win a movie?

A little film that came out this year, and led us to the leading man that would surprise a lot of fans of G.I. Joe, Channing Tatum blazes on the screen with his two fists of lethal weaponry and a huckster in Terrence Howard who channels that brutality for fun and profit can now be yours.

Shoot me a note at Christopher_Stipp@yahoo.com and let me know if you want a copy that will no doubt make your Friday night with the boys all that more enjoyable.

Editorial description from Amazon.com:

The last thing you might expect from a movie called Fighting is excellent acting, but that’s what you’ll get. A scam artist named Harvey (Terrence Howard) sees a young would-be hustler named Shawn (Channing Tatum, Step Up, Stop-Loss) in a street scuffle and lures him into a no-rules fighting circuit. Shawn’s relentless drive to win leads him to unexpected success, but when he gets put into a big fight with a professional boxer, Harvey asks Shawn to take a dive. The plot sounds like a thousand boxing movies, but the difference is all in the texture. Fighting takes place in a very real New York City, with cramped, make-shift apartments, cluttered streets, and seedy nightclubs. Scenes get knocked sideways by odd bits of life and character quirks that feel organic, not shoehorned in by some clever screenwriter. There’s a marvelous scene where Shawn is trying to woo the Puerto Rican waitress he’s smitten with (Zulay Henao, Feel the Noise), but they keep getting interrupted by her suspicious mother–which sounds like a rom-com cliche, but is completely transformed by the wonderfully human interplay among the actors. Howard has always had a magnetic talent, but Tatum reveals an engaging vulnerability that contrasts nicely with his big-slab-of-beefcake look. The movie hearkens back to 1970s classics like Midnight Cowboy and Dog Day Afternoon, and though it doesn’t achieve the same emotional heights, it’s reaching in the right direction. Writer/director Dito Montiel (whose previous film, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, also featured Tatum) promises to make some truly memorable movies. –Bret Fetzer

Item #4 – ULTIMATE COLLECTIONS: WORLD WAR II: THE WAR IN EUROPE AND THE PACIFIC

I could stay awake for days on end watching clips from World War II.

I haven’t an idea why this war, not World War I, not Vietnam, not the Civil War, has endured in our pop culture experience in the form of films and shows but I am glad that movies like INGLORIOUS BASTERDS continue to mine this struggle against the ultimate bad guys in black, red and beige: the Nazis.

This jam packed collection of footage from the front is unbelievably riveting when you consider how detached we’ve become as a society with regards to how we conduct our modern warfare in the public sphere. With reporters not allowed to reveal this, take pictures of that, this era is wonderfully captured with the documentary style that helps couch pivotal battles in terms everyone can understand. I found myself appreciating the moments that really did change history and this lush collection couldn’t be more timely as the 70th anniversary of D-Day is right around the corner.

Hollywood, you’re on notice, there are a few gems here that haven’t yet been made into films. Get on that…

Product Description:

JUST IN TIME FOR THE 70TH ANNIVERSARY OF D-DAY COMES A NEW, VALUE-PRICED EDITION OF THE BEST-SELLING WWII ULTIMATE COLLECTION — FOUR DVDs FILLED WITH OVER 6 HOURS OF MUST-HAVE WAR-TIME PROGRAMMING

World War II encompassed some of America ‘s greatest triumphs and most bitter defeats. And, in time to commemorate the 70th anniversary of D-day comes the new, value-priced ULTIMATE COLLECTIONS: WORLD WAR II: THE WAR IN EUROPE AND THE PACIFIC, a comprehensive and intimate survey of this epic war offering over 6 hours of stunning war-time programming across 4 DVDs.

First, take a commanding view of the battles and strategy, the men and machines, and the horror and heroism in eight documentaries that chronicle THE WAR IN EUROPE:

THE GREATEST CONFLICT

NORTH AFRICA… THE DESERT WAR

THE BEACHHEAD AT ANZIO

D-DAY… THE NORMANDY INVASION

PURSUIT TO THE RHINE

THE BOMBER OFFENSIVE: AIR WAR IN EUROPE

THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE

THE BATTLE OF GERMANY

Then, experience the drama and intensity of World War II’s turbulent Pacific Theater through extraordinary footage and intense expert commentary with seven documentaries that comprise THE WAR IN THE PACIFIC:

ISLAND HOPPING: THE ROAD BACK

JUNGLE WARFARE: NEW GUINEA TO BURMA

AIR WAR IN THE PACIFIC

THE BLOODY RIDGES OF PELELIU

THE RETURN TO THE PHILIPPINES

OKINAWA”¦ THE LAST BATTLE

ADMIRAL WILLIAM “BULL” HALSEY: NAVAL

INTERVIEW – BOBCAT GOLDTHWAIT

When I bought Bobcat Goldthwait’s “Meat Bob” back in 1988 on cassette it was one the very first comedy albums I owned. I put Bobcat up there with Eddie Murphy and George Carlin but, here’s the funny part, I never bought Bob’s shtick. Yeah, he absolutely used that voice that made him famous as Zed in those POLICE ACADEMY and plundered that character for all it was worth but his comedy was brutally funny and honest. To wit, he has a bit in his set where he gives a glimpse of what it’s like to be a comedian. It’s subtle but you can hear how people’s perceptions of him shapes his comedy and it leads into a wicked joke that concerns a monkey, an alcoholic beverage and genitalia. You can hear his honesty, you can feel his true self and it’s what attracted to me to the guy’s work for over two decades.

He broke onto the film scene with SHAKES THE CLOWN, a work that some would say set his career back to the times of Cecil B. DeMille, a movie that defied normal comedic conventions and a series of late night show appearances that would help further ensure his disappearance from pop culture entirely. A funny thing happened on the way to irrelevance, however. Bob came back with a real zeal to stay working. And he has. With directorial turns for Adam Carolla and Jimmy Kimmel’s The Man Show and keeping high powered friends close to him, Bobcat raged back to the screen with 2006’s SLEEPING DOGS LIE, a deeply dark comedy that was critically well-received.

Now, he’s back with an equally well-received film in WORLD’S GREATEST DAD. Starring long tine friend Robin Williams as a father who seems at a loss at how to deal with his roustabout son the film deals with some rather heady and mature themes that are wrapped up in some extremely dark and sharp comedy. Bobcat took some time to talk to me as he talked about his experience making his latest hit. In an era of bad comedians Bobcat had his own voice, literally, and it was a thrill to be able and talk to the man most actors now refer to as director.
CHRISTOPHER STIPP: Thanks for doing this interview. I’m going to go out on a geek limb and tell you that I dug out my cassette of Meat Bob that I’ve had since the 80’s and revisited that and your old HBO comedy special which I still had on VHS tape”¦

(Laughs)

BOBCAT GOLDTHWAIT: Wow. You got any betamax in there too?

(Laughs)

CS: No but I will say that it’s amazing to me that there is such a difference between your comedy back then and now and I know from reading other interviews that you are not that big of a fan of getting on the road because people want to see the gimmicky Bobcat. I don’t know. I remember as a kid listening to Meat Bob and hearing that real comedian in there.

GOLDTHWAIT: Just recently I’ve jettisoned to character so when I go up on stage for the first time and now I’m having fun doing stand up again and I know the people are there and they expect that but I just couldn’t do it anymore. I just had to do what was coming out of me.

CS: Tell me about the film. I had a chance to watch it last night and I honestly think it’s one of Robin Williams’ greatest performances because it is so subdued and it kind of ties together with Robin Williams not having to do Robin Williams. It seemed like the genuine actor that won the Oscar for his performance. Were you intimidated at all? I know you two have been friends…

GOLDTHWAIT: I was not intimidated until the day before we went to film and then I really was thinking things like, “Is he really going to listen to me?” And then he would say, “Hey, I won an Academy Award and you were in Hot to Trot so we’re going to do it my way.” But it ended up not being that situation at all it was the two of us coming up with the character together and making decisions together. We did this as a team together.

CS: And the material itself, as a parent myself I am sensitive to how parents see their children and want to them to think that they are great people and the son doesn’t see that. Did you find when you were writing this that some of your own issues as a parent spilled out on the page?

GOLDTHWAIT: If that’s true, I’ll see it later on. But I just think it’s weird that if you have a kid in a movie they are supposed to be one way. If you have a kid and he’s evil then he becomes a demonic character. But there are just some kids that are not good people and they are not the ultimate evil but just not giving back to society and that’s Kyle’s deal. I always thought when this guy grew up he would be some stoner mooching off his parents.

CS: And Robin, himself, he’s a sympathetic character. I felt downright sorry for the guy. He’s trying to make good decisions, do the right thing. Explain to me the idea of the character, the twists of the film come in later, but what launched his character. Was it Robin himself? Or was it the twist that came and you thought that would be a good premise for a movie so let’s build around that?

GOLDTHWAIT: Actually the end of the movie came to me first. I wanted a guy you might empathize with but I didn’t want a guy you felt bad for. I wanted a guy, I knew a guy growing up who says no to unhealthy relationships (cue Dr. Phil). But then I thought that sometimes people have unhealthy relationships with people of the opposite sex but sometimes people have unhealthy relationships with their children or other people so I didn’t want it to be a relationship comedy/drama. It would have been misogynistic. So then I made a movie where is seemed I hate teenagers.

(Laughs)

CS: It’s not such a bad thing.

GOLDTHWAIT: No, it’s not. You know what? In Hollywood everything is made for teenagers.

CS: Well, that’s the thing. Their money is good and they get everything pitched to them and catered to them and honestly, they should go through a period where they don’t get what they want.

GOLDTHWAIT: When I was a kid I would go see Woody Allen movies and he would make references to things that I wasn’t even exposed to. He made a Costco reference and that’s how I became exposed to Costco. And even Mel Brooks made movies aimed toward adults and now they are aimed for 12 and 13 year old. That’s really setting the bar low.

CS: And you bring that up in an interview where you are doing stand up you have to pitch it to that lowest common denominator but talk about how the film allows you to not have to pitch it that way.

GOLDTHWAIT: When you are doing stand up you have time to entertain and keep the dumbest guy in the room amused for 45 minutes. And with movies, it’s a different crowd to begin with that’s coming because they researched it and they already have an idea. They still probably heckle movies but the dummy would be bored and probably leave. But I’ve jokingly said that the movie is available on VOD so 4 people can show up late and sit next to you when you are watching the movie and they text and talk all during the movie. And, they talk to the screen.

CS: I don’t understand the behavior.

GOLDTHWAIT: I think it’s what we are talking about ““ the sense of entitlement and the inability that their actions affect other people. They are just exposed to everything. We are becoming a culture with no consideration of couth.

CS: Did you find that growing up with your own kids that they fell into that or were you aware of it before this movie came into your own head that there is this thing out there and you had to fight against it?

GOLDTHWAIT: No, it was more of my day to day exposure to the general public that made me realize that a sense of entitlement has really increased in our culture.

CS: You could put that into celebrities as well.

GOLDTHWAIT: Sure. But you know the role of celebrities at this point is really funny. In order to be a celebrity you have to have the ability to stand in line, among other things. We could just point a camera at anybody or anything and they become a celebrity. I’m not bitter but it’s just strange. And when I was a kid growing up we were afraid that big brother would be spying with all the new technology and that’s not what happened at all. We just spy on each other. We can’t wait for each other to trip up and then post it and blog about it.

CS: Right. We are just a culture of navel gazers. We want to tell everyone what’s going on with us.

GOLDTHWAIT: It is a very strange time.

CS: I love that about the film. You do kind of hint at it but it’s you know what, you don’t get what you want. A lot of kids have never been said no to.

GOLDTHWAIT: Yeah.

CS:And there’s got to be that person that says, “You can’t get what you want”, “You can’t have everything.”

GOLDTHWAIT: Yes. And that’s the really bad thing that happens as a parent. I was never really too concerned about being my daughter’s friend as she grew up. I was just hoping we were raising a kid that wouldn’t be a jerk when she grew up.

(Laughs)

CS: Did she turn out OK?

GOLDTHWAIT: I think she’s OK.

CS: Shifting it back to the film, I apologize for getting off on that, but the sort of do it yourself way you’ve done this ““ you, both films, you commented about having to create it and do it yourself and no one was cutting you any breaks and no one was cutting you any big checks, how was it to mount up and say, I want to do this film with Robin and I want to get it made and put rubber to the road and actually making it ““ was that ever daunting? Was it ever not going to get started or was it a go as soon as Robin signed on?

GOLDTHWAIT: There were two different companies came to me and said we were trying to make changes and I actually walked away from these two deals that were in place. They proceeded to tell people in LA that I was crazy and that the movie wasn’t going to get made but honestly it was nothing I was ashamed of. I already have plenty of that.

(Laughs)

CS: You say that but there is a core of us that believe that even the most embarrassing things are still great works, especially when you look at Shakes the Clown and Sleeping Dog Lie. You’ve done so much work with The Man Show.

GOLDTHWAIT: I’m not embarrassed of all my work.

CS: What are you getting from people who have seen this film? Are you getting people who are expecting something wacky or goofy out of Robin and then getting something completely different? Or do they know exactly what they’re getting?

GOLDTHWAIT: That’s what’s happening with this movie. I don’t blame folks for having expectations for thinking it’s going to be one kind of comedy. Robin and I are both happy with the way people are enjoying it.

CS: This being your second well received movie in three years, are you learning as you go along? I was amused that Hot to Trot gave you inspiration saying that well, if this jerkoff can do it, I can do it.

GOLDTHWAIT: I am in a learning curve and I am trying to get better each time. I try not to take myself too serious. I do take making movies very serious but we do have a good time making them.

CS: How is writing for you? Do you write with friends in mind?

GOLDTHWAIT: No. I just write trying to get the story out.

CS: I know that the movie is centers around doing what make yourself happy, doing what you want to do. Looking at what’s happened to your career you’ve been silenced by a lot of important people, how do you keep yourself happy with what you do?

GOLDTHWAIT: I just stopped trying to make things for money or prestige and tried to make things that interested me and the things that came out of me. Once I did that, my whole life changed. I’ve never been happier.

August 28, 2009
Party Favors: Danny Trejo

SANTE FE – Danny Trejo is taking Vengeance straight to the people. After nearly 20 years and over 100 films of being a memorable supporting player, he’s stepped up as the lead actor and the producer on this movie. Instead of dealing with a video distributor, the actor is offering Vengeance free to fans via http://www.vengeancearmy.com. It’s free, but there’s a $5.99 shipping and handling fee.

Here’s the trailer:

You’ve seen Trejo in numerous films from Heat to Smiley Face. He’s the large actor with the giant tattoo on his chest of a Mexican woman in a sombrero. His fake trailer for Machete in Grindhouse proved more popular than the real features. He’s currently making a feature length version of Machete. Gil Medina, the director of Vengeance, called up the Party Favors hotline to discuss their revolutionary way of taking a movie straight to the fans.

“I read something online that talked about the reason that there were no takers at AFM is because it wasn’t a worthy film,” Medina. “It wasn’t that there weren’t any takers. It’s just that nobody had a game plan. We didn’t feel good about handing (Vengeance) to somebody who was going to put together with 10 films, toss it out and we’re in the discount bin. We can’t do that. Trejo has way too many fans to let this hit the discount bin.”

So far the website has received close to 75,000 pre-orders for the DVD. They’re doing much better than most titles that vanish into the vortex that is the discount bin at Wal-mart. “The Midwest is responsive like you wouldn’t believe,” Medina said.

Trejo and Medina are more than actor and director on this project. They’ve been friends for a while. The two men met a decade ago when a club Medina owned hosted a pre-party for a movie that featured Trejo. “Danny was my favorite actor from Heat, Con-Air, Desperado and From Dusk Till Dawn. He has always been my inspiration. I didn’t pay any attention at the other actors at this pre-party, I saw Danny standing against the wall. I said, ‘Hey man, do you need a place to sit.’ I got him a place to sit. I tried to get him a bunch of drinks, but he doesn’t drink. I didn’t know that. I got him some water and he took my number. He called me the next day and said, ‘I need a healthy place to eat here.’ I took him to some healthy restaurants. We just started working out together. I was very interested in film. He took me to the set. He said, ‘I can probably get you a job as my assistant.’ I wanted to watch the director and see how he works. I want to see how things happen.’”

This was not his first film set visit. He knew Ice Cube and was able to hang out on the set of Friday. “Cube said, ‘You can do this. You can do what I’m doing for the brothers, you can do this for the Hispanics.’”

The moment Vengeance took shape was at the top indie film festival.

“We were at Sundance a few years ago,” Medina remembered. “We were with Kevin Costner and started talking about Danny. How strong he is on film. He played a (Charles) Bronson type of character. I said, ‘Look Danny, you can lead off something. We got to do it.’ He said, ‘Write it. Let’s see what happens.’ That’s where it was born. I came up with the story.

Nobody believed in Medina’s vision of Trejo as the Bronson character filled with vengeance. Medina and Trejo had to invest in their vision. They also used their connections when it came to casting. Medina had known Tech Nine for years. He also helped bring in Baby Bash. Trejo called favors from ex-wrestler Diamond Dallas Page, Donal Logue (Grounded For Life) and Jason Mewes (podcaster on quickstopentertainment).

Trejo is noted for his work in helping others with their trouble. Medina saw this in the actor’s work with Mewes.

“Danny is a good influence trying to keep everyone straight,” he said. “You can be in this world and still be straight. I think Jason and Danny have that relationship. Danny didn’t have Jason in the movie playing a guy smoking dope. He was a tattoo artist in the joint. It was opposite what he plays. I think that’s why Jason liked it. He didn’t have to be stoned.”

The prison location wasn’t movie magic.

“It was a full running prison,” Medina said. “We bought it out for four or five days. They moved the prisoners over to a different tier. When we went in, the prisoner’s stuff was still there. Their pictures were still up. It cost us an arm and a leg to shoot there, but we saved on production design.”

Before he got into the acting game, Trejo was had a troubled past that led him to long stays in prison. His lifestory can be found in the documentary Champion. How was Trejo inside a working prison?

“It was difficult,” Medina declared. “He got really intense when the doors would close. I had to tell him, “Look, we get to leave.’ I think something snaps when the door closes and you see that environment and you’re in those clothes again. Something changes.”

The pressure of being back in the joint led to some uncomfortable exchanges between the star and a former wrestling champ.

“Him and Diamond Dallas Page got intense,” Medina said. “I thought these guys were going to go to blows. It was crazy. It was tense, but it sure made for some good filmmaking.”

Besides acting in the film, Tech Nine will be contributing a song to a soundtrack. Melina promises another act will be pitching in music, but can’t release the name yet. “The songs we have coming in from these artists could delay our release time until 2010,” he said.

Trejo and Medina have a gameplan to turn the character of Jack Santos into a series. “We have five of these films. Vengeance 2 is written. When Machete is wrapped, we’re going to work on Vengeance 2. The sequel will deal with terrorists disguising themselves as Mexicans to sabotage the oil fields of the Midwest.

Medina maintains that Hollywood studios don’t have a clue about the people who are fans of Danny Trejo. He does have the most iconic tattoo in showbiz since Popeye’s anchor. His fans are everywhere as he travels around the country. “It’s busboys, waiters and dishwashers. They’ll shut down the kitchen to get a picture with him.” And the do ask him to open up his shirt before snapping the picture.

Medina is excited about the revolutionary process of using the internet to go directly to people who are eager to see Trejo get his chance to be the star for the entire film. “It’s a good movie,” Medina promised. “But for free, it’s a great movie.” Visit the website for information about getting the film and a chance to have a part in Vengeance 2.

DEADAWAY

The Perfect Getaway just seems like another film that was paid for by the package tourism industry. A couple decides to avoid the tourist traps of Hawaii and head to the wilderness. Naturally they run into homicidal killers who are butchering fellow vacationers. Will Milla Jovovich survive? This is Taken where the daughter gets kidnapped and turned into a drug addicted hooker when she’s going to randomly follow U2 around France. What about The Ruins? That was kids going their own way in the jungle. Have you ever noticed there’s rarely any films about travelers on a package tour being systematically butchered while following their trip itinerary? Or has Big Travel shutdown those productions? Somebody has to die with a shuffleboard stick shoved down their throat eventually.

DOUCHEBAG UPDATE

Seems Jon Gosselin was not feeling secure in his title of the Biggest Douchebag in America. He decided to do the biggest douchebag dad move of the year by hanging out with Michael Lohan. What child in the world wants to know that there dad is getting child raising tips from Lindsay Lohan’s old man. I’d rather see tabloid pictures of my dad partying with Charles Manson. The duo want to have a reality show about “famous” divorced dads. I got the perfect title: Murder-Suicide. They can fight over billing order.

WHY?

Why exactly does MTV have a Music Video Award ceremony? All I see on that channel are whiny 16 year old girls getting knocked up and begging daddy for a car. I feel like I missed out on high school by not getting a classmate pregnant. Do you know what the secret lesson of Sixteen and Pregnant is? Get knocked up in groups. Those girls in Gloucester, MA had the right idea. Most of the girls on the TV show complain about how the baby ruins their ability to party. But if 8 high school girls get sperminated, they can make a pact so that each weekend 2 of them will babysit the kiddies while the other six hit the town. The girls will only miss out on partying once a month. It’s a win-win-win-win-win-win-win-win situation. Don’t tell your guidance counselor where you got this genius idea.

BLU-RAY HEAVEN

Dexter: Season Three takes America’s favorite serial killer into the uncomfortable role of fiancÃ© and expectant father. Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) is no longer a lone wolf roaming the street looking to eliminate the homicidal monsters that lurk on the streets of Miami. He’s got to become a family man as he moves in with his pregnant girlfriend (Julie Benz) and her kids. She wants them to be more social and have friends. He makes a new best friend in Jimmy Smits. There bonding is rather awkward since Dexter accidentally killed Jimmy’s brother while hunting down a drug dealer named Freebo. Smits is a high profile Assistant District Attorney who learns of Dexter’s secret. He wants to help Dexter find victims, however he doesn’t want to operate under Harry’s Code. Can Dexter figure a way out of this that won’t end in Rita being pissed that he’s alienated their new friends? This has been my favorite Smits role and makes me forget he was in those bad Star Wars films. Also Dexter is looking for a new serial killer that takes a piece of flesh from his victims. This Showtime series is part of the cream of current TV. The show gets plenty of talent in the director’s chair including Keith Gordon (A Midnight Clear), John Dahl (Red Rock West) and Ernest Dickerson (Juice). The show looks best on the Blu-ray with the 1080p bringing out the blood in the crime scenes. The bonus features are BD Live so you need a connected player to enjoy them. They include cast interviews and an excerpt of the Dexter By Design novel. The DVD has the first two episodes of United States of Tara. The other bonus features have to be unlocked on your PC including two episodes of season three of The Tudors. Dexter: Season Three reminds us that the most horrific fear besides being cut apart by a serial killer is waiting for your girlfriend’s pregnancy test to go plus or minus.

Dragonball Evolution Z Edition Blu-Ray reminds us that Chow Yun-Fat used to be the biggest bad ass star in cinema. The man who brought bullets to Hong Kong cinema in Hard-Boiled and The Killer, now plays the man that has the knowledge. Goku (Justin Chatwin) gets a Dragonball on his 18th birthday. There’s only seven of them in existence. If they’re all brought together, a wish will be granted. Things go wrong when James Marsters wants to collect them all after busting out of prison. Goku needs Chow Yun-Fat’s help against the evil guy. The film is really goofy on many levels. This was not created for Oscar consideration. Emmy Rossum arrives with a Dragonball detector. Can you register for that at Target? I only wish Chow pull off some two-fisted Dragonball fury. The 1080p image is sharp enough to see a faint glow in Chow’s eyes that he can still rock the two gun fury. There’s plenty of behind the scenes footage including a gag reel. There’s also a digital copy on a disc so you can stick it on a tween’s iPod.

Stargate Atlantis: Fans’ Choice Blu-ray brings two episodes to the Hi-Def love. The series was a spin-off of Stargate: SG-1. They locate Atlantis in the Pegasus galaxy. Trouble is when a crew arrives there, they can’t quite get back. They had a big online poll as to what two episodes would get on this Blu-ray. The winners were “The Rising” and “Enemy at the Gate.” “The Rising” is the pilot film. This allows someone new to the series to truly get absorbed into the futuristic journey to Atlantis. The detail looks fantastic on the widescreen. “The Enemy at the Gate” is the final episode of the series that aired during the fifth season. No need to completely spoil the show. The gang gets their chance to return to Earth. It’s almost like a compact version of the series on a single Blu-ray disc.

DVD SHELF

Mutant Chronicles Director’s Cut: 2-Disc Collector’s Edition immediately gets my attention by giving Devon Aoki (Sin City) a sword and mutants to hack up. If I was a senior citizen who had to pick his death when questioned by government health care experts, I’d pick Aoki with a blade. If you’re going to die, let there be an artistic beauty to the fatal stroke. Mutant Chronicles takes us to an alternate universe where corporations battle it out with World War I technology given a steam punk edge. During an explosion, an army of mutants escape from their underground tomb. The humans can’t hold them back. It’s up to Thomas Jane (Hung), Ron Pearlman (Beauty and the Beast) and Aoki to follow John Malkovich’s orders. It’s the only hope the planet has. Did I mention Aoki gets to use a sword to stop the mutants? The film is a CGI wonderland done like Sin City. The film wouldn’t be that great without Aoki hacking up mutants. The 2-Disc set gives a complete DVD of bonus features to let you know the various secrets from the set. There’s footage of Aoki practicing her swordplay.

Demon Warriors brings more action fun from Thailand. The producers behind Ong-Bak has a detective go to a severe extreme to pursue a case. He kills himself gain access to a space between life and death. He’s tracking down a gang of demons. It’s The Exorcist goes Terminator. Can he successful pull this offer or is he going to end up in the morgue? The action has an intensity that makes the ass kicking look realistic in the fantastical storyline. Demon Warriors is a top flight freaking fighting flick.

Everybody Hates Chris: The Final Season proves that the biggest hater of this show was CW network. The fourth seasonal finally put Chris Rock (Tyler James Williams) in high school. These are now the awkward stories about the 9th grade when a comic learns if he really has what it takes to make kids laugh and not shove him inside a gym locker. “Everybody Hates the English Teacher” once more presents the tragic story of what happens when Chris decides to do a book report based on the movie. Didn’t Chris Rock learn this sitcom lesson when it happened on Leave It to Beaver? Although once I did a book report mistaking Melville’s Moby Dick for Hanna-Barbera’s Moby Dick. Learn from my mistakes. The series ends with a cliffhanger. I wonder what happened to Chris Rock? Did he grow up to be Tyler Perry?

90210: The First Season revived Beverly Hills 90210 without merely hiring young actors to play a younger Tori Spelling. Instead we get a whole new batch of kids moving into the world’s most famous zip code along with a few familiar faces. Rob Estes (who starred on Melrose Place) returns to Beverly Hills to become the principal of West Beverly High School. He’d been living in Kansas with his wife and kids (Tristan Wilds and Shenea Grimes). They move in with his drunk ex-actress mom (Arrested Development‘s Jessica Walter). Very quickly the kids learn how it’s done in SoCal. Of course the first thing they learn is how to lose weight and fabric. The series makes the original show look so tame and innocent. I blame this bad behavior on Twitter and text messages. Doesn’t help that the most tempting classmate is Annalynne McCord. She was the jailbait in Nip/Tuck. Fans of the old show will watch in glee with the return of Tori Spelling, Jennie Garth and Shannen Doherty. The bonus features on the set include a tour of The Peach Pit. That place was the da bomb in 1992.

Dirty Sexy Money: The Complete (and Final) Second Season presents the last 13 episodes of the Darling family chronicles. Peter Krause (Six Feet Under) is in charge of keeping the rich trainwreck family look presentable for the press. The first season was compelling as Krause kept wondering if he had a real family bond with the Darlings. There’s murder, money and drugs in every episode. It’s kind of like Soap except not played for laughs. The final episode features Gary Collins and John Schneider (Dukes of Hazzard). How could ABC have yanked this show with such great guest stars? The final four episodes were dumped into the summer programming so you might have missed it. The boxset gives us a final chance to spend time with the Darlings and their money. Maybe this could have been a bigger hit as Sexy Dirty Money. Always lead with the sex.

Eli Stone: The Complete Second Season – Final Season contains the final 13 cases for the lawyer played by Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting). The season starts with Stone having recovered from the removal of his brain aneurysm. No longer does he suffer from visitations from George Michael. Although they were probably plenty of times Andrew Ridgeley tried to sneak onto the set. How can the show survive without the hook of Stone having freaky visions? Well luckily it turns out that it wasn’t merely the brain aneurysm was causing the loopy moments. The law firms has a lot of issues including a break up. The show also was canned early in the season with ABC burning the final four episodes in the summer. If you’re a fan, at least you won’t have to merely have memories and hope that someday Trio will return to the cable box with its Brilliant But Canceled program.

Delgo brings together Eric Idle, Burt Reynolds and Malcolm McDowell in a CGI animated fantasy flick. This is a fantasy tale inhabited by alien critters. It’s a battle between amphibian and winged inspects in a medieval setting. The only hope of preventing an all out war rests in the love between Delgo (Freddie Prinze Jr.) and a winged princess (Jennifer Love Hewitt). This seems aimed for little girls who like a big of roughness in their fairytales. This isn’t meant to be watched by adults without child supervision. The action doesn’t get too intense. It’s about as dynamic as a wii game featuring Mario. Val Kilmer also lends his vocal chords to the effort. The behind the scenes featurette gives you a look at the stars in the audio booth. Val Kilmer’s red shirt can be seen from space.

August 14, 2009
Trailer Park: Charlyne Yi and Nick Jasenovec of PAPER HEART

By Christopher Stipp

The Archives, Right Here

I was able to sit down for a couple of years and pump out a book. It’s got little to do with movies. Download and read “Thank You, Goodnight” right HERE for free.

And now, you can follow me on TWITTER under the name: Stipp

Item #1

I would remiss if I didn’t mention the untimely passing of John Hughes.

You will obviously seeing a lot of short articles about the ma’s impact on many of the thirty-somethings in Internet movie journalism and I would have to be included in that bunch.

FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF was an anthem, really, to suburbanite kids like me who understood Hughes’ aesthetic on the adolescent desire to just take some time out for yourself. SIXTEEN CANDLES was a movie that I am thankful for seeing in the theater as a young kid. I knew it was a funny then and I know it’s a funny movie now. I even remember having my father taking my brother and I to see PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES. All three of these cinematic experiences were a delight and stood in stark contrast to the critical reception his films received at the hands of critics who would eat their words so many years after they realized what John Hughes was doing with his movies.

I know it sounds like a plug, and if it was online to read to free I would share it here, but if you happen to see Geek Monthly’s August issue with Seth Green on the cover I delve in deeper to John’s movies as I chart the course of some documentary filmmakers who made their own film, DON’T YOU FORGET ABOUT ME, which uses new interviews with the film’s cast and creators to tell how they were inspired by John’s work.

He may have been gone for decades but that hasn’t made his passing any less easy to those of us who could quote endlessly from his films. There’s a reason why we’re able to do that and it doesn’t have anything to do with their accessibility; he was a gifted writer and filmmaker who was able to distill the experiences of teenage life and, eventually, older age.

He will be missed.

Item #2

Bernie Madoff.

There is a moment on the DVD of Ripped Off: Madoff and the Scamming of America where Bernie is talking to a class full of business hopefuls how he feels about governmental regulation and, essentially, how he feels about finance in general. Not only is it hilarious but it’s a fascinating snapshot into the mind of a man who no doubt knew what he was doing at the time he was guiding the minds of those eager to plunder the riches found in high paying financial jobs. The man, who would get convicted of stealing billions upon billions of dollars, is the perfect model upon which this documentary is set against and thankfully so.

The world of economics, especially to people like me who are allergic to the point needing an EpiPen when opening the Business section of my local newspaper, is one shrouded in highfalutin linguistics that purposely confuse rubes like me who have to surrender to the “expert” guidance of those who are entrusted with doing the right thing. Regulation couldn’t help those who Bernie Madoff swindled and honestly this documentary puts everything into a perspective that helps to show how even those who are already smarter than a lot of us got taken as well.

Ripped Off should be one that everyone who wants to understand this economic crisis from an angle divested from the talking heads who want to blame one party or the other. I didn’t get robbed of any money and this program spoke to me in a language that even I could grasp. I’m not afraid to admit that I need my information served to me in ways that helped me understand credit issues in MAXED OUT or the obesity problem in SUPER SIZE ME.

There is something delicious to Madoff being sentenced to 150 years in prison after you see the wide swath of destruction left in his paper trail. Ripped Off proves why 150 years isn’t punishment enough for this confidence man.

PAPER HEART – Interview
Those looking for love won’t ever find it and those who don’t believe it exists never had a child who dotes on them. It’s a slippery thing, love, when you think about the way it finds some and the way it ignores others. Growing up, I was enchanted by films like ONE CRAZY SUMMER and BETTER OFF DEAD by director Savage Steve Holland or the suite of films from John Hughes where characters were placed into every embarrassing situation as it pertains to the courting rituals of the modern American teen. As you head into older age, it would follow, should “love” be as elusive as it was during the awkward years of prepubescence you would start developing the jagged edges of those burnt-out on bad relationships while developing an acute distaste for all things sweet and lovey-dovey.

In steps Charlyne Yi and Nick Jasenovec.

Their film, PAPER HEART, looks to take the stance that love needs some defining in an age where over 50% of marriages end in divorce and where hearts are broken at breakneck speed every minute of the day across this land of ours. The documentary blurs the lines of fiction and truth but with an emotion that is as bizarre and weirdly nebulous as love the structure of the film is wonderfully suited to best strip down this most basic of emotions.

Charlyne Yi and Nick Jasenovec stopped in Phoenix to talk about their film and to discuss the construction of the best docu-fiction motion picture you’ll see all year.

CHRISTOPHER STIPP: Looking at the film’s promotional poster and reading previous interviews where the idea of the movie crew being in the movie wasn’t always factored in…was it a conscious choice to blur the line between documentary and fiction?

NICK JASENOVEC: Well we did know. We were shooting with two cameras and shooting spontaneously and shooting in that manner you knew that occasionally you were going to capture a crew on camera and people that weren’t necessarily part of the scene. So we knew that we would have it but we didn’t want to make them an integral part of the story line. We didn’t want to rely on that. We had scenes in the outline where the camera crew kind of gets in the way of things and sort of effects the relationship but we didn’t want it to be a main focus but then when we got to the editing room and saw the footage, it was the most clear conflict in the movie. Because we didn’t make a traditional film so there’s not a – Charlene cheats on Mike and Mike find out and they break up but then she comes back to him. So there was no sort of fake plot points, so it was really kind of an easy going film from start to finish so when we found conflict in the editing room we decided to jump on that and make that the focus.

CS: How did you come up with the treatment?

NICK JASENOVEC: It started with Charlene.

CHARLYNE YI: Originally I wanted to make a traditional ““ I keep wanting to say “straight” documentary but that seems sexual.

(Laughs)

I wanted to make a traditional documentary about love inspired by people I’ve met in my life that opened up to me about their love stories. Most movies to have a sort of love relationship in the film and why not make one about real stories and there’s so much more meaning to them because they are real. So I came to Nick with that idea and Allison was kind of skeptical about love at the time and from there he said, “You should go on camera.” I didn’t know about that.

JASENOVEC: It made sense because she performs all around Los Angeles and is comfortable on stage and everything. She’s really funny and charming and she has a unique comedic voice so it just made sense. A lot of our favorite documentaries always feature the document writer on camera in the primary role and once I found out how she felt about love I thought the audience should really experience the journey through her eyes. Because she had these specific feelings and that’s what drives the film. So once we decided that we started working on the idea and came up with the sort of scripted story line to tie everything together and give the story some sort of arch for Charlene and just for story line.

CS: Exactly…and that leads into the question about how it started with just a few pages. I read that an hour before shooting you would huddle together and started hammering things out. Did you notice an evolution of what was happening as each shoot ““ an hour before shooting ““ any trends? Or was it literally as random as it appears?

JASENOVEC: It was. Sometimes we’d beat it out and start shooting and someone would say, it’s not working.

YI: Yea, and then we’d have to have another meeting.

(Laughs)

JASENOVEC: But then other times you would have no idea and have to wing it and then it would turn out great.

YI: And you find that through improvising it worked.

JASENOVEC: The movie itself has to feel ““ both halves of the movie have to feel equal. The have to feel of the same cloth. So like all the scenes where Charlene or Michael or Jake are acting have to feel they were captured just like the documentary. So, improve was just the obvious choice just to keep things fresh.

YI: And organic.

JASENOVEC: Unscripted. Doesn’t feel like they were reading lines from something. It was always different. I don’t remember patterns really but there were times where ““ I remember a scene in the film where they were driving out to Joshua Tree on the drive out to Palm Springs. That was just supposed to be one of the many dates. But instead it just naturally came out, Michael had the idea that I don’t think my character would be very excited about bring the cooler along. So that became the focus of the scene. So there were tons of surprises.

YI: And then in the editing room it became the focus of the movie how ““ a relevant scene that would help the arch.

JASENOVEC: I can’t remember what interview we talked about what.

CS: Everyone is trying to be different.

JASENOVEC: These are different questions.

YI: The questions are relevant.

JASENOVEC: Yeah, but I’m just trying to remember what we said in which one. Like, oh shoot, did we cover that in this one.

CS: “What lie did we tell?”

(Laughs)

JASENOVEC: Yeah, we have to keep all our lies straight.

(Laugh)

CS: Now that begs the question, when you had about 300 hours footage and you said, “OK, we have 300 hours and we need to make a movie that’s 90 minutes and change.” Where do you start? Obviously you start with your story.

JASENOVEC: The first thing we put together was no documentary stuff just Charlene setting out to make the movie, meeting Michael, starting the relationship, whatever happens happens. The relationship story line. That’s an easier way to put it. And that alone without any documentary stuff I think was over 2 hours. So we knew that that wasn’t going to work.

(Laughs)

We knew it had to be half and half and then had to get it down to about 45 minutes. So think from there, we definitely had a lot of stuff, but that was where the conflict of the cameras impeding the relationship really stood out, so we made that the focus. We restructured and got it down to about an hour and then started cutting the documentaries interviews together and started putting them in place and looking at which interviews would fit in which parts of the movie and it was just all different too. Because you would think that you would want to put an interview in a scene to comment on that scene, but when we showed it to people, not only did they not catch it but it felt like everything was in the wrong place. So a lot of the scenes, to me, the documentary interviews feel like some of them should more obviously be closer to the scenes but they aren’t. Oh like the puppet stuff, the recreations. Remember we took the themes of the four and this was the first meeting, the early part of the relationship and it didn’t work at all.

YI: Yes. It’s hard to pinpoint why it didn’t work. It’s like the energy of the scene and then”¦

JASENOVEC: There’s probably 100 different versions of this movie. It’s just like a giant jigsaw puzzle. Especially with the documentary stuff. The story line, once you figure that out, that’s going to stay the same but where do you put the documentary stuff. What interviews go where? It was interesting.

CS: Who decided to make the cut and who didn’t, especially when you are trying to select the best pieces?

JASENOVEC: Almost everyone made the cut. Some were shorter than others just based on what the relevant information was or maybe how interesting the information was. We definitely had favorites and least favorites. Not to say that it’s a personal film but just in terms of how it works in the movie. There’s a couple that didn’t make it in. And then the ones that did, yea. Each interview is probably an hour, an hour and a half long so we had to boil that down to what was the core idea of each interview and tie it into the story line.

YI: We had a set of general and specific questions applying to the scientist.

JASENOVEC: And also certain interviews were approached based on where ““ different interviews were approached in different ways. For this interview, let’s do this one where Charlene and Michael have been together for a little while so there’s a comfort there and can talk about that relationship in this interview.

YI: And hopefully give advice.

JASENOVEC: Yeah, and then another interview she would just be approaching it from where she is at the beginning of the film so that also dictated some of the order. If we chose to use anything that was specific.

YI: Yeah.

JASENOVEC: Just thinking back on it”¦

YI: Gives me a headache

(Laughs)

JASENOVEC: It was a pretty miserable time. I remember the first time we lost our first cut we were like, what have we made? This is never going to make it.

YI: We were so depressed. We were just sad eating.

(Laughs)

CS: Does it help that you guys did this independently?

YI: Most definitely. I think if people saw the 300 hours of footage people wouldn’t understand what we made.

JASENOVEC: Because we would just keep the cameras rolling. We would try things that didn’t work a lot of the times. We didn’t have to show footage to anybody. No one was looking over our shoulders. We did have a weekly budget and we had a bond company. So as long as we stayed in budget and were getting the footage that we thought we needed, we were OK. No one from the financiers saw the movie until we were finished with it.

YI: I can’t imagine if we did get input. That would have destroyed the film.

JASENOVEC: It was confusing enough trying to figure it out on your own but if you have other outside people telling you what to do, I don’t think we would have discovered anything we discovered.

YI: And there’s already so much pressure. Like us being on the road running constantly trying to nail shots, getting kicked out of places because we don’t have permits”¦so it was difficult.

JASENOVEC: We were really lucky.

CS: Your and Michael’s chemistry on the screen was really great. Did you find that your two comedy styles. Well, I shouldn’t say styles but Michael came into this and you guys had to make it work. I don’t want to ask a stupid question like, “Was it easy to do?”

(Laughs)

But did you find that you two complement each other?

YI: I think we all have the same sense of humor. You [Nick], me, Jake and Michael.

JASENOVEC: We are all friends so we’re all comfortable around each other so that helps. So there was no bad idea.

YI: There was no, “Let’s do it my way.” We were, “Yeah, let’s do that. Let’s try it.”

JASENOVEC: And I think that Charlene and Michel both love twisting realities and playing with the audience’s perceptions and stuff. When we came up with the idea of the movie we knew that Mike was perfect. He loves doing stuff like this. And knew that we would all be on the same page. There were very few disagreements.

YI: The only disagreement was when he was complaining that he didn’t have enough raisins.

JASENOVEC: Which was often. Every day.

YI: Every hour.

August 7, 2009
Party Favors: A Haunting In Connecticut

HARTFORD — Lately American horror films have devolved into remaking (or re-imagining, as the studio publicists insist) the fright films of the ’70s and ’80s. It’s like we’ve run out of spooks. Luckily last spring there was a cinematic scare-fest that brought us a fresh set of chills with The Haunting In Connecticut.

A mother (Virginia Madsen) rents an ex-funeral home so her son (Kyle Gallner) can be close to the hospital where he undergoes radiation chemotherapy to combat Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The son sees strange things in the house. Seems a few of the former clients hadn’t left with their embalmed bodies. The film is based on a true story.

The Haunting In Connecticut is out on DVD and Blu-ray in both the PG-13 cut and the Unrated Special Edition from Lionsgate. To celebrate the release, the Party Favors hotline received calls from director Peter Cornwell and Carmen Reed, the mother whose ghostly encounters were the basis of the movie.

The DVD includes a documentary about the real incidents Carmen Reed experienced in the haunted house during the mid-80s. Not to spoil the flick, but the house in the movie looks like nothing like the actual haunted ex-funeral home. The real one is a regular neighborhood while the movie version is remote in the woods. Reed didn’t mind the alterations, but admitted that “it didn’t look like anything like the one I lived in.”

How involved was she in the fictionalized version of her supernatural experience?

“I talked to the director and the screenwriters for months before they started the production,” she said.

Did she demand any changes in their script?

“No,” she said. “They had a template idea of what they wanted when they went in.” She’s at ease with the dramatic liberties in the film. “I have to remind people that this is a movie that’s based on my story. It’s not a blow-by-blow. I’m not angry of anything. I think they did an excellent job on my movie.”

The film does not come close to ending like the actual event. How did things come to a head at the real house? “We ended with an exorcism,” she said. “Trying to push them back through the doors and close the doors and keep it that way.”

Did the exorcism work?

“Oh yeah. Only when I go into great detail about the story does anything ever happen.”

At this point in the interview I’m concerned about her ghosts coming through the telephone wire to spook me. Will the Party Favors headquarters need its own exorcism?

“No,” she said. “Not generally to you. It would be to me.”

Now I’m going to feel guilty if she upsets the spirits. Enough gabbing about the undead. How did she feel when she found out Virginia Madsen (Sideways) was playing her in the movie?

“I was thrilled,” Reed said. “She’s a beautiful, classy lady. I’m honored to have her play me.”
?Did they spend a lot of time together while the actress researched the role?

“No,” she said. “I’ve never spoken to Virginia Madsen. I’ve never met her. She must have watched the documentary. She had my hand mannerisms.”

Did she have contact with any of the actors wanting to research their roles? “No. I don’t know if they had time. They just never spoke with me.”

Does she suspect that the actors were afraid that making contact with her might upset the ghosts and get them haunted in process?

“Maybe,” she said. “I hope they wouldn’t be like that, but you never know. Anytime I talk to other people about it, for example I was talking to my sister in South Carolina. She started experiencing banging on her walls and things of that nature. I was afraid I would harm someone else.”

When the family moved into the ex-funeral house, what remained from the former occupants?

“When we moved in, there was still a gurney to hold the coffin, a lung nail, there was face putty, eyelashes, make up,” Reed said. “There was bloodstains on the wall. There was a blood tank. There was a body lift that went from the morgue up into the viewing area, which was my bedroom. There was a pad on my ceiling in my bedroom where the coffin would hit the ceiling. There was lots of personal paraphernalia, hats, coats, and some photos. There were toetags.”

Did the landlord clean it up much before her family moved in?

“He cleaned a lot of it out, but we had to repaint the rooms because their was blood splatter all over,” Reed said. “I had to pull an intestine out of the sink. It was pretty gory. But we got it all cleaned up.”

The movie compacts the amount of time the real family spent at the address. They had lived in the house for two years, but it everyone wasn’t haunted the entire time.

“The first time my son walked in there, he heard his name called,” she said. “He heard voices and saw apparitions on the very first day. (It was) the last nine weeks we lived in the house that we started experiencing things. It mostly bothered my oldest boy and then it gradually included my other children.

“We thought it was related to him receiving cobalt to the head and neck. You don’t know what kind of side effects those things are going to have. I don’t care what the doctors say. Cobalt is radioactive.” She was warned that if her son had knocked a vial out of the doctor’s hand and onto the floor, they’d have to shut down the unit and remodel. “I’m surprised he didn’t glow in the dark.”

What did she do when she realized that this wasn’t all a part of her son’s chemo?

“The next day after all that started happened to me, I called the Catholic church and had an interview with my local parish priest. He didn’t give me satisfaction so I went directly to the Archdiocese. They had five or six different people interview me. Finally one gentleman came out to the house and interviewed me at length. He told me that I needed a drug test, psychological test and lie detector. In the end I didn’t have to take those things. He determined I wasn’t crazy, on drugs or lying. He blessed the house. He determined to send an exorcist in. The first exorcist they sent in came under attack. He took us to another exorcist since he didn’t feel he could be effective.”

The movie only has one priest enter the house. Reverend Popescu is played by Elias Koteas (Exotica).

“Elias looks a lot like John Zaffis, who was the researcher in the house,” she admitted. “He has a lot of his mannerism, but he wasn’t the minister. He did help a lot in the house. He was there 9 1/2 weeks.”

How long afterward did the family stick around the funeral home?

“A week after the exorcism,” she said. “We waited to make sure everything was calm and we moved out.”

She’s seen the film four times. What scared her the most in the dark theater?

“I think the guy in the closet made me jump. It was more because everyone else screamed in the theater,” she admitted.

Did she ever catch herself yelling at her cinematic character to not open the door?

“No,” she said. “I cried through the whole thing. It was reliving my son’s cancer treatment. Some of the guilt I still carry from that. All four times I cried through the whole thing. I wasn’t so much scared.”

Does Reed get calls from people wanting to know if their house is really haunted by the dead?

“That’s what I do,” she said. “I counsel people who are going through it. Many times they want me to check their house out. I will find them someone if there in an area that I can get to them readily.”

Does she find herself being contacted by people who think they’re being haunted by dead family members or are these people who just bought a house without knowing former occupants haven’t checked out?

“Usually it’s a lot of people that have just got a haunting and they don’t care who it is,” Reed said. “They just want them gone. If the spirits are causing them distress, they want them gone.”

What event sets them off to want help removing the ghost?

“It’s generally when it starts frightening kids,” Reed said. “People are very protective of their children.”

How did her own children react to seeing their personal ghost story on the screen?

“I think they’re all thrilled with it,” she said. “It’s hard to sit and watch it with them because they’re saying, ‘That didn’t happen’ and ‘This happened this way.’ I had to warn them beforehand that this isn’t exactly blow by blow of our house, but they still have to critique it.”

When they finally moved out the haunted funeral home, did she get her security deposit back?

“You know, I don’t think we did,” Reed said. No one has ever asked me that. I really haven’t thought about it. But no, I don’t think so.”

A few minutes later director Peter Cornwell rang up the Party Favors hotline (which was hopefully ghost-free). The Australian director had made a name from himself with the short stop-motion film “Ward 13.” The Haunting In Connecticut was his first feature film. What attracted him to the project?

“I’d watched tons of haunted house films and there aren’t that many good ones so it didn’t take very long to see them,” Cornwell said. “When I read the script, I realized this is really original and different. I wanted for my first film to be in a contained environment. I liked the idea that you’re stuck in a pressure cooker environment. The house becomes a character in this film. The logic of the script made sense. The hardest thing in a haunted house story is coming up with something besides being built on an Indian burial ground. We get this intricate backstory that has layers that keeps you intrigued. The character stuff is great. Getting the opportunity to work with Virginia Madsen and Kyle Gallner.”

He was very proud to mention that Gallner is “now starring in A Nightmare on Elm Street playing Johnny Depp’s part.” After being attacked by ghosts, Gallner now will be chased by a razor glove wearing Jackie Earle Haley (Bad News Bears and The Watchmen).

One of the interesting pieces of casting is reuniting Elias Koteas and Virginia Madsen, the stars of The Prophecy. Did he realize what he was doing?

“I found that out. Virgina told me all about that,” he said. “I don’t think either of them had much fun making that film so they enjoyed being able to get back together and clean the slate. I really enjoyed The Prophecy. I watched it after I had directed them both. It was funny seeing two actors I’d directed in a scene in another film.”

How much time did he spend at the real haunted ex-funeral home?

“I remember looking it up on Google Earth and discovering it was really right near a graveyard,” he said. “But no. The budget didn’t allow me to fly out to Connecticut. Even though Connecticut had a tax break, I was thinking it made sense to make it to shoot it in Connecticut. But they were no. We shot it in Winnipeg.”

Does he think the cast avoided talking to the family to avoid any contact with any lingering ghosts?

“Maybe,” he said. “The writers worked with Carmen for two years on the script. I was talking to the writers a lot and they knew (the family’s) minds.”

The film differs a lot from the experiences of Carmen Reed and her family. How does he view leaving out certain elements of their testimony like the little kid in the Superman pajamas?

“Some of the stuff was creepy in real life, but might not really work in a movie,” he said.

Folks can get the Unrated Special Edition of the film. How did this cut come around?

“The Un-rated cut is more graphic,” he said. “Originally we submitted the film and got an R. We wanted to try and get it back down to a PG-13. Because it’s a ghost story, you’re not missing out in a gory death like you do in a slasher film. We managed to be as disturbing. We didn’t revert to the previous version. It’s more sort of the pumped up version of the PG-13 with close ups and stuff.

There’s already news that the film will spawn two sequels with The Haunting in New York and The Haunting in Georgia. Is he part of the upcoming productions?

“Gold Circle (the production company) are. I’m not,” Cornwell said. He can’t discuss what his next project will be.

How hard was it to make sure the frightening moments in the film worked? Did he have to drag in innocent eyes into the editing room to see them pop?

“I think I have a pretty good sense of how it works from how I storyboarded the scenes. For me it’s a big thing of how you reveal the monster. How do you create a scare? I’ve watched a lot of horror films and there’s reveals in this film that I’ve never seen in other films. I was thrilled when it worked. When we first screened it to random people off the street at the first big scare, people screamed their heads. People were jumping and screaming all through the film which was great. When you jump, that’s when it really gets scary. I don’t think you can have a really scary film that doesn’t make you jump. What makes it work is that you really care about the family. When the characters are in jeopardy, you worry for that person and you’re not worried about yourself jumping.”

Was The Haunting in Connecticut a play upon Christmas in Connecticut, most recently remade with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as the director?

“I’ve never really thought about that,” Cornwell said. “That might be why they named the original documentary? We just called it that because of the documentary.”

AMERICAN DOUCHEBAGS

If there’s one industry that’s not hurting in America, it’s the production of douchebags. Turn on the TV see the bounty harvest of douchebags. It’s time for a Douchebag of the Year Award.

Originally this hardware was a lock for Spencer Pratt of The Hills on MTV. I don’t watch the show since Showtime still has OnDemand adult content. But the clips that make The Soup on E! have shown Spencer to be the biggest douchebag that hasn’t run for public office, played sports or done anything in his life other than attempt to grow a beard. His antics on NBC’s I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here really made me wish they had been stuck on Cannibal Island. Why didn’t he get an intestinal parasite during his jungle days? Because he is an intestinal parasite. However all of Spencer’s douche work was blown away when Bravo debuted NYC Prep.

The reality show follows a group of extremely rich white high schoolers in Manhattan. The girls are cute although a couple of them appear to be headed towards MTV’s 16 and Pregnant. The star of the show is PC (Peter Peterson), a senior who acts like he’s auditioning for the Broadway version of Bret Easton Ellis’ American Psycho. He’s not merely a teenage douchebag. He’s an adult size douchebag stuck in a child’s body. Kinda of like Danny Bonaduce. I find his smug antics to be precious simply because I have zero contact with this guy. Although I don’t blame him for being a douchebag since who the hell names their kid Peter Peterson? Is his cousin Michael Micheals?

But PC’s reign as America’s top Douchebag was incredibly short. Who could trump this privileged jerk? Would you believe a middle aged father of eight in the midst of an identity crisis?

When Jon & Kate Plus Eight turns splitsville, America blamed the break up of the marriage on Kate Gosselin. She had that horrible haircut, controlling attitude and dreams of being Octo-Oprah. She came off so cold and self-absorbed during the interview segments. When news of the divorce hit, people felt Jon needed to bolt. The world thought she’d ripped his balls off. With all the sympathy of the world, Jon proved us all wrong in one little photo.

There was Jon wearing a crummy Ed Hardy t-shirt, diamond studs in his ears, over-priced sunglasses. He was sharing cigarettes with his 22 year-old girlfriend in the south of France while waiting to hang out on designer Christian Audigier’s yacht. It was not the look of a man with 8 kids across the Atlantic and the ink still drying on his separation papers. This was a guy who cashed out on the family life for a world reserved for people with old money or talent. How much of his girlfriend’s vacation cash came out of his kids’ college fund?

Supposedly this trip to Saint Tropez was work. He’s going to help launch Ed Hardy For Kids. Do you really want your kids wearing that over-priced junk? Wouldn’t you be better off buying your kids t-shirts and Sharpie markers to create their own spastic designs? What’s his angle? Clothes dads can buy their kids when they’re ready to “upgrade” their wives? Is he really going to make yacht money from this deal? Jon priced an apartment in Trump Tower with his girlfriend. What sort of gravy train does he imagine he’s riding? Is the new girlfriend going to pump out nine puppies at once? Now that the Masche sextuplets are camera ready on We’s Raising Sextuplets, the Goselins days are numbered. There’s just too much creepy divorce drama to imagine the cameras need to be around the Goselin kids. Once the trainwreck appeal ends, Jon & Kate Plus Eight will be uncomfortable viewing on par with The Osbournes: The Rehab Days. But a douchebag thinks that they’ll always be superstars in the eyes of America. There’s no need to think of the day the cameras disappear.

When Jon returned from France, he told the reporters that he’d returned “to film” for the series Not that he needed to return for his kids. He needed to spend quality time in front of the cameras with those 8 kids as extras. Man has to keep up the career so he can keep his little girlfriend happy. It’s not about the kids, it’s about his toys. And that’s why Jon Gosselin is America’s Greatest Douchebag.

DVD SHELF

Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse: Season One presents Eliza Dushku as a woman who can be anything you want. While it seemed like this would be a woman on adventures, the series gets into the internal politics of maintaining such a business. There’s a reporter wanting to expose the whole operation. Olivia Williams (Rushmore) is the prig in charge of The Dollhouse (not to be confused with Thee Dollhouse). There’s a lot of gunfire and mind games. Above it all, there’s Eliza looking hot no matter what role her clients want. The first three DVDs contain the 12 episodes that ran last year on Fox. The 4th disc contains what fans of Whedon crave including the original cut of the pilot “Echo” and the unaired “Epitaph One.” The unaired episode is getting run at Comic-con for those heading out to San Diego. This is a first season boxset with plenty of surprises beside what Eliza will be doing.

Jim Breuer – Let’s Clear The Air lets the star of Half Baked admit that he’s not always high. He was just born with a face that makes him look stoned. The hour long special includes his tale of teaching Dave Chappelle to drive a car. His story of appearing in Half Baked involves him being fully baked when he went before the cameras after his role was upgraded. He was stoned while working against Clarence Williams III (Linc from The Mod Squad). Breuer reflects on what it’s like to be the father of three young girls. He swears the volume knob was busted on his daughter. His hatred of kiddie music is dead on. I’m up for the Metallica for the kiddies album. He reminds the couples thinking of having babies that they need to imagine a world without sleep. The bonus short of “Fireside Chat With Dad” shows where Jim learned to handle a rough crowd. Dad wants his money and food. Breuer proves he’s more than the guy who hosted The Joe Pesci Show on Saturday Night Live. He’s still funny even if you’re not stoned.

The Lucy Show: The Official First Season contains the continuation of I Love Lucy minus the men. Lucy (Lucille Ball) is now a widow with two kids. Instead of being Ethel, Vivian Vance plays Vivian, a divorcee with a young son. She’s not even dressed in Ethel’s frumpy clothes. The two single moms share a house in a quiet New York town. The lack of Desi Arnaz and William Frawley (Fred Mertz) allows Lucy and Vivian to get caught up in too many harebrained schemes. There’s nobody to truly put a stop to them – outside of cops. The most memorable episode of the season is “Lucy Visits The White House.” Lucy and Viv’s Cub Scouts build a White House out of sugar cubes before their big trip to Washington D.C. On a whim, Lucy calls the president’s office to see about giving it as a gift. JFK answers the phone and tells her to drop by with the kids. The trip turns out to be a disaster when the sugar cubes take a hit. Can she and Viv redo the project in time? The boxset is loaded with bonus features including the commercials featuring Lucy, Viv and their kids that ran during the shows. They even show off the vintage comic books and board games associated with Lucy’s new show. This is the perfect gift for the Lucy fanatic in your life.

Early Edition: The Second Season stars Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights) as a guy who gets a newspaper with tomorrow’s news. He’s becomes a subscription superhero trying to undo bad headlines. “Angels and Demons” has Nia Peebles playing a nun. She was recently playing a dead beauty contestant on Matlock: The Third Season. “March of Time” has future Speed Racer star Emile Hirsch. The episode had Kyle discover a racist leader is going to be assassinated during a hate march. Should he really stop this headline from happening? He should have stopped Speed Racer from going into production. “A Regular Joe” has Kyle attempting to talk a quarterback into retiring since the next game will put him on the severally disabled list. The episode gets bonus points for starring Hall of Famer Dick Butkus. If only newspapers worked like this, the Boston Globe wouldn’t be slashing salaries.

Leverage: The 1st Season allows Timothy Hutton to put together a financial version of Mission: Impossible. He’s an ex-insurance company investigator who got screwed over by his employer when his son was sick. The kid died waiting for treatment. Now he’s out to get revenge on these folks with a crew made up of folks he nailed for fraud. They stage elaborate scams to set up their victims for the kill. “The Nigerian Job” has him him being tricked into stealing aviation secrets for the wrong guy. Hutton won’t be screwed. He comes up with a front that involves real Nigerians. “The Two-Horse Job” sounds like something that costs an extra C note at the Bunny Ranch. It’s just a guy killing off his underachieving race horses. Whatever happened to just sending them off to the Alpo factory. “The Miracle Job” has them save a church. It’s a mission oriented 12 episodes on the box set. Best bonus feature is the cast being told the series has been renewed. The second season of Leverage is about to kick off on TNT.

This American Life: Season Two continues the stellar Showtime TV adaptation of the radio show. Host Ira Glass brings another six episodes that explore the American experience. “Going Down In History” documents a jailbreak that involved dental floss. “Scenes From a Marriage” animates the tales of married couples. The husband and wife tell stories from their perspective. The wife swears the husband wasn’t there when she saw Jackie Kennedy. It’s cute. The second half has a marriage fall apart when the husband’s legal battle completely alienates his wife. It’s not cute. The most moving of the episodes is “John Smith” where the lives of numerous John Smiths at different ages are spliced together to create the life of one John Smith. It’s creative and inspiring. The newborn John Smith hasn’t done that much. The big bonus feature for this release is This American Life Live! The 77 minute event ran in theaters across America. Ira gets to mix the audio live on stage. They feature segments from the upcoming second season along with a few things that didn’t make the cut. If you couldn’t make it to the theater that day, you can now enjoy Ira Glass in your living room.

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XV brings another four titles of the award winning Comedy Central program from the Satellite of Love to your house. The folks at Best Brains worked hard on this batch since they include the most painful excuses for cinema. Racket Girls is about pro women’s wrestling in 1951. The women aren’t close to the hotties that grappled on GLOW. They spend most of their time in the ring swapping headlocks. The “action” in Racket Girls might cause you to pass out from a sleeper hold plot. Mike Nelson and the robots have to do three times the work to keep up the funny. “Zombie Nightmare” gets saved by the casting of Adam West and a really young Tia Carrere (Wayne’s World). A dead baseball player returns as a zombie to destroy Tia and her friends. They put him in the grave. West has to solve this supernatural thriller. The bonus features include a recent interview with the zombie actor and the actor who formed a lifelong bond with Adam West. “The Girl In Lover’s Lane” gives us riding the rails action. There’s not as much action as craved in a tale of drifters. Luckily Joel and the Robots bring the wisecracks that pep up the plot. “The Robot Vs. The Aztec Mummy” is a prime piece of goofiness from Mexico. Who knew robots could battle the undead? This was from the first season on Comedy Channel when Josh Weinstein played Tom Servo and Dr. Laurence Erhardt. The Satellite of Love gets invade by demon dogs. For folks who really want to go old school, there’s segments from their first season on KTMA in Minnesota. They were below Lo-Fi that season. The next installment will come out Dec. 1 with The Corpse Vanishes, Warrior of the Lost World, Santa Claus and Night of the Blood Beast.

Love Boat: Season Two, Volume Two allows your brain to take an ocean cruise vacation. The funniest moment of the dozen episodes is Sonny Bono playing Deacon Dark. With his face painted kabuki-style and a python around his shoulders, he’s a cross between Alice Cooper and Kiss. His lounge performance deserves to be played during any “Metal Years” documentary. Sonny drops his schtick when a deaf girl inspires him to become the next Paul Williams. Arte Johnson is his serious manager. What’s interesting is that both Bono and Gopher (Fred Grandy) would end up as Congressmen. Couldn’t their political opponents use this footage against them? Charo makes a return appearance, but now she a star of the Pacific Princess lounge. She sings the “Love Boat” theme as her show’s big highlight. Hollywood Squares‘ host Peter Marshall slinks on as a “swinger” who thinks he’s found a new lady to romance while his wife tans by the pool. Match Game host Gene Rayburn woos Fannie Flagg through her smuggled dog. Where was Charles Nelson Reilly? Abe Vigoda and Nancy Walker (director of Can’t Stop the Music) hook up. Who saw that coming? Raymond Burr stumbles aboard as a drunk high school drama teacher. Love Boat keeps up the mindless romantic fun. Don’t watch without a few Isaac (Ted Lange) level cocktails.

Parker Lewis Can’t Lose: The Complete First Season brings Corin Nemec’s dream to the shiny discs. Corin had told the Party Favors that he was working with Shout! Factory to get the series released. And now it’s here. The show has Parker Lewis as the coolest guy in school with the freshest of early ’90s fashions. He worked all the angles at a high school. He’s kinda like Damone from Fast Times At Ridgemont High except with high tech help. The pilot episode has Milla Jovovich as the girl of his dreams. Turns out she’s also in the dreams of Parker Lewis’ tight buds. Sadly enough she did not get the gig as a regular. “Operation Kubiac” lets the huge football stud (E.R.‘s Abraham Benrubi) getting recruited. Parker wants a piece of the action by becoming an agent. However his math makes him college poison. “Jerry: Portrait of a Video Junkie” brings back Jerry Mathers and Barbara Billingsley from Leave It To Beaver. Kids got hooked to video games before wii. Ozzy Osbourne and Donny Osmond appeared this season, but not on the same episodes. The pacing, action and effects seems to have set the stage for Scrubs. Parker Lewis is so much better a student and pal than Ferris Bueller. Parker Lewis Can’t Lose is too smart for homeroom. The 26 episodes are spread over 4 DVDs. There’s only two more season to go.

Peyton Place: Part Two has another 33 episodes from America’s favorite tawdry small town. With the death of Farrah Fawcett, we’ve seen a lot of Ryan O’Neal on TV. Peyton Place is where he got his start as the misguided lover who has a thing for Mia Farrow. His real wife has split for Manhattan where she’s about to take up a career as a hooker. Mia’s real father has been released from prison. Except she doesn’t know that Tim O’Connor is her biological dad. He’s promised her mother to keep it a secret. But he needs to unveil the real killer who sent him to prison. A local insurance salesman goes nuts when his business fails. He plans on making a few people cash in their policy with the Colt .45 clause. It’s not a peaceful town. No matter how simple you think things are, they always get complicated on this primetime soap opera from 1965.

TRIBBLES!

July 28, 2009
A Bit Of A Chat with Ken Plume & Julie Gardner

I’m Ken Plume, and soon you’ll be listening to “A Bit Of A Chat” with me, Ken Plume.

In this episode, I’m having a bit of a chat with producer Julie Gardner.

In 2003, after spending time as a development producer at London Weekend Television, Julie Gardner took a position as Head Of Drama for BBC Wales, bringing with her a project named Casanova – written by Russell T. Davies and starring David Tennant. Two years later, she would premiere, with Davies at the helm, a revitalized version of Doctor Who. Soon after, Tenant would become the 10th Doctor, and the Doctor Who spin-offs Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures were launched.

Six years on, Davies is ending his run as creative poobah of the Who-niverse and handing the reigns to Steven Moffat, Gardner has also moved on from her position at BBC Wales for a position at BBC Worldwide America.

I had a chance to chat with her on the eve of the DVD release of the Torchwood miniseries Children Of Earth, as well as the first of the four final Davies/Gardner shepherded Who specials, Planet Of The Dead.

BBC America will be airing Torchwood: Children of Earth beginning today – Monday July 20th – through this Friday at 9pm EST/8pm CT. Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead will air Sunday, July 26th at 8pm ET/7pm CT. Both will be hitting DVD/Blu-Ray on Tuesday, July 28th.

Here now is my chat with Julie Gardner… Hope you enjoy…

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July 20, 2009
A Bit Of A Chat with Ken Plume & David Wain

I’m Ken Plume, and soon you’ll be listening to “A Bit Of A Chat” with me, Ken Plume.

In this episode, I’m having a bit of a chat with writer, actor, and director David Wain.

Not only is he 1/11 of the now-legendary sketch comedy troupe The State, but David Wain is also the director of the cult-classic comedies Wet Hot American Summer and The Ten, as well as the box office hit Role Models.

If that weren’t enough, his post-State slate has also been filled with the far-too-short-lived Comedy Central series Stella and his web show, Wainy Days.

After what’s seemed like a torturous wait filled with false alarms and delays, The complete 4-season run of The State is finally getting released on DVD, jam-packed with bonus features sure to dazzle, and probably blind, even the most jaded of fans.

For more information about David, be sure to check out his website at www.DavidWain.com

Here now is my chat with David Wain… Hope you enjoy…

Download “A Bit of a Chat with Ken Plume & David Wain“:

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Drop Ken a line HERE.

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July 13, 2009
Party Favors: FRIDAY THE 13th’s David Kagen

CAMP NOBEBOSCO, NJ — Critics enjoy mocking the Friday the 13th films as a mindless exercise in human slaughtering by the goalie masked wearing Jason. The body count was more important than the plot. But amongst the carnage of the dozen films was one that stood out. Friday 13th, Part VI: Jason Lives combined a ghoulish sense of humor without compromising the grotesque homicides. What’s even more astonishing is that it gave us Sheriff Michael Garris. He was a lawman that could handle the undead Jason Voorhees.

“Don’t piss me off, junior, or I will repaint this office with your brains,” he announced. I had a chance to talk with the man behind Garris’ badge and mustache when David Kagen called the Party Favors hotline. He was ready to chat about the DVD release of Friday 13th, Part VI: Jason Lives: Deluxe Edition.

While the earlier five parts were shot in the Northeast and California, the producers took this sixth outing deep down South to Covington, Georgia. The low budget production was also low profile to keep the locals happy.

“When we were down in Georgia filming, they didn’t want people to know what was being filmed,” Kagen said. “When they posted signs, they called it something else.”

Was it hard to keep Jason and his iconic goalie mask shielded from the locals?

“We didn’t go out to eat that way,” Kagen said. “We did the killings and everything were done in secluded places. There was a lot of night shooting.”

The amazing thought is how in today’s internet age, there would be little chance of a production keeping such a secret. Somebody would leak out the location via a twitter. But back in the mid-80s, the was no instant communications for film geeks.

Most stories about filming in Georgia include descriptions of unbearable heat and humidity. There are nightmarish tales of film melting in the cans. What sort of weather did Kagen experience?

“It was comfortable at night. We put a jacket on,” Kagen said. Anytime you can’t remember the weather in Georgia, it had to be good weather. For those curious of the days it was shot, Kagen went into Atlanta to see Tony Bennett and Rosemary Clooney at the Fox Theatre.

How did he land the role of Sheriff Garris?

“My manager was friendly with the people casting it. He got me in,” Kagen said.

His manager might have got him the meeting, but it was his ultimate cop mustache that made him perfect for the role. Turns out he didn’t grow the facial hair just for the role.

“I had the mustache for a lot of years,” Kagen declared. “It was just my thing. I played bad guys, cops and detectives, lawyers and hard-boiled businessmen. It was kinda related to what I did. Gave me a little edge.”

As the film went on, the role of the Sheriff grew bigger for Kagen.

“They added some things. They really liked what I was doing. That whole fight between Jason and myself was all added. They liked what they were seeing and they put together this whole thing. I was excited and flattered by that.

“The way I did my work as an actor and the way the script was written with the jokes and the tongue and cheek, I just sunk my teeth into and did my thing. Tom (McLoughlin) just kept encouraging me. It was very satisfying and fun.”

The film was rumored to have a budget of $3 million. Was it an extremely low budget film for its time? Or could you get a lot of film production for that price over two decades ago? Kagen didn’t know the actual budget, but he remembers it wasn’t a lavish set.

“The guy who was the DP was also the camera operator, Jon Kranhouse,” Kagen. “I don’t know if that was by his choice or if it was a budget thing or both. It was nice for me. I can’t remember any other film that I quite had that experience. Usually there’s a separate camera operator. We only shot for six weeks or so. For a bigger budget feature film, you’re talking twelve weeks. So we got half. But I didn’t feel it. It was a wonderful experience.”

The budget was big enough so the producer’s mom never showed up to cook all the meals. Even though Kagen wasn’t in a majority of the film, his time in Georgia wasn’t short.

“I was there the last day when it wrapped. We shot all night and had a wrap party at six in the morning. I’m not sure if I was there from the very, very, very beginning. They tried to consolidate my time. I was in a lot of the movie so I was there for most of the shoot. It seemed like four or five weeks.”

Kagen doesn’t mind getting to the set earlier and watching what’s going on when he’s not in front of the cameras.

“You sort of get a feel for what’s going on for the whole movie,” Kagen said. “I like to do that whenever I do something. I’ll show up early. I like to be on the set and get a feeling of the style, the tone and the feeling of how everybody is working.”

Was he able to hang with Ron Palilo (Horshack on Welcome Back, Kotter)? Ron bit it early.

“Yeah,” Kagen said. “We talked. I was around. Nice guy. It’s just the way it is. I was around so much, I got to meet most of the people.”

The film marked the cinematic debut of Tony Goldwyn (Ghost) in a memorable murder scene. Did Kagen get to see Goldwyn’s memorable VW Bug related death?

“I was around for that, but we didn’t talk a lot,” Kagen said.

The cool part about making a film in the mid-80s was that the stunts weren’t completely composited in CGI. The signature stunt of Friday 13th Part VI was an RV wreck that only Jason survives. Was Kagen around the day they launched the RV?

“Oh yeah. That took a whole day to set that up. That was the last shot and they had to get it done while there was enough darkness so it would match. They had cameras planted here and planted there because that was a one time thing.

“When that RV left the ground, you could see underneath the RV. There was air. You could see people standing across in the field. That thing left the ground. They really did it. God forbid they have to right that RV after it’s been damaged like that and shoot it again.”

The actor had high praise for the tech guys who know how to make an audience squirm.

“The people who have the most fun on the set are the special effects and make up guys,” Kagen said. “There will be a scene where somebody’s leg gets torn off. The first time they shoot they scene, they’ll shoot with the foot pointing towards the camera so you can’t see blood and guts. Then they say, ‘Now let’s turn the guts toward the camera. We need more green here and more disgusting colors.’ It’s really like kids at play. There is the one where the guy gets his head crushed by Jason and I fall down right in his face. That’s one where they did it one way and then added colors.”

The multiple violence levels have led to alternate cuts of the film.

“As I remember it, that was one of the problems with my killing. There are some versions out there where they show the whole in actual time. On some versions it’s very abbreviated. He’d be bending me and suddenly I’m bent.”

When Kagen bumps into actors that appeared in Friday 13th films, is there a bond like students who survived Catholic High School?

“I guess there’s a certain understanding,” he replied.

There are numerous stories about the various actors that played Jason Voorhees in the Friday 13th film series. Did C.J. Young hide from the rest of the actors and only appear when the director yelled action? What was Kagen’s relationship with C.J. Young?

“Good,” Kagen said. “We had fun. We got to be together a lot and talk. He really cared. He wanted to do a good job. He really wanted do what would make it most effective. He paid attention and committed. I haven’t seen him in years.”

According to the imdb, Young might still be a casino manager at the Flamingo in Las Vegas. Jason Voorhees could be roaming the same hotel as Donny and Marie Osmond. Now that would be a Friday 13th worthy of being shot in Imax.

How nasty was it for Kagen to look at the undead makeup Young had under the goalie mask?

“I don’t know if I should tell, as far as I remember, they didn’t do stuff under the mask,” Kagen admitted.

Young didn’t spend hours in the makeup room getting the gore goop applied?

“I don’t think so,” Kagen said.

While Kagen has performed in dozens of films and TV shows over the years, Jason Lives is the one that gets him noticed.

“I run into fans in the strangest places. I was on a hike in the Angeles National Forest on a weekday. I’m walking down a trail and I see somebody coming toward me. As he gets ten feet away from me, he say, ‘Oh my God, you were in Friday 13th Part VI.’ I never expected this.

“I never expected it would be so popular. I continue to get fan letters and run into people who tell me when they first saw it. I went to an autograph signing for the DVD and I got to hear stories about how old they were when they first saw it. This young kid came up to me. I said, ‘How old were you when you saw it?’ He said, ‘Six.’ I said, ‘What? You were six years old?’ He said, ‘My brother and his friends were watching it. I snuck into the room. They saw me there and said, you better not tell mom or we’ll kill you.”

It struck home that Friday 13th Part VI came out around the time that VCRs and renting movies on videotape had become a normal way of watching R rated entertainment in the comfort of a living room. There would be no more tales of having to sneak past the ushers into the forbidden multiplex theater. A generation merely had to remember to hit play after the parental units went to bed.

After the DVD autograph session, Kagen intends on attending more horror conventions.

“I’m just starting to do that. It was really interesting,” Kagen said. “The fans were so nice, sweet and pleased. They’re very grateful for the opportunity to say hello.”

Kagen played Major Klev on the “Detained” episode of Star Trek: Enterprise. Does this qualify him to also pop up at Star Trek conventions?

“Evidently,” Kagen said. “We’re going to see.”

Lately Kagen has been getting roles on shows such as Life, House M.D. and CSI. But I had to ask him about two of his early guest appearances on A-Team and 21 Jump Street. What did Kagen remember the most from his time around Mr. T?

“Well, I was on the set one day when Mr. T decided not to show up,” Kagen said. “They had to double him. He was at a football game or something like that, if I recall. They could double him because he was in a truck.”

He did wish he could have talked with George Peppard since they both went to Carnegie Mellon University. But Peppard had a contract that set up the shoot day so he was last to arrive and first to split.

What was his impression of a young Johnny Depp?

“I didn’t have scenes with him, but I was around,” Kagen said. “What was interesting is that same kind of freedom and bravery and being his own person, you could see that on 21 Jump Street. Between takes there was a level of confidence. He wasn’t uptight. The main thing is he was brave. He wasn’t careful and I mean that in a good way. It’s good for an actor to not be careful. You need to be free to create and do your thing. To not censor yourself. Let people see what your feelings are about a particular scene or moment: do it. Stick your neck out, take a chance.”

You can see what happened when David Kagen stuck his neck out while battling Jason Voorhees on the Friday 13th, Part VI: Jason Lives: Deluxe Edition DVD.

SET SPY REPORT

Our man on the set of Miley Cyrus’ upcoming The Last Song said that it’s impossible to get near the Hannah Montana gal with her wall of bodyguards. Although he reported Greg Kinnear wanders around the locations unprotected. Where are all the Auto Focus fanatics? This man ought to have the Hell’s Angels keeping away folks willing to scream out, “A day without sex is a day wasted!” Where are our society’s priorities?

SUMMER TV FUN

True Blood is back. I was so getting sick of those promise ring wearing Twilight vampires. We’re still trying to come up with a term for the blood snowball that was featured on the first episode. Hung has much promise with Thomas Jane getting back to his Boogie Nights roots. Weeds continues to roll out of control, but at least it’s an interesting tumble. Nurse Jackie reminds me why I hate going to hospitals. Edie Falco has topped her role on The Sopranos.

Cake Boss on TLC is like what would happen if the guys at Ace of Cakes rented out their basement to a meth lab. While the Cake Boss pastries look delicious, the baking crew is too high strung.

The teasers for Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian go to Miami has inspired my new show: Lon Cox: VD Hunter to the Stars. Each week Lon will track down what celebrity has spread a new strain of VD around Los Angeles. Lon is America’s greatest Matlock impersonator so his down home Southern folksie style will disarm people getting the harsh news about why they keep itching in bad places.

DVD SHELF

G.I. Joe A Real American Hero: Season 1.1 brings us the animated action before the live action film hits the screen. The series was a toy catalog come to life with all the amazing action figures in full motion in 1983. There’s lots of fighting, shooting, exploding, ass kicking and product placement. It’s easy to see why parent groups had major issues with it, but what did those loser know about being entertained? G.I. Joe isn’t an actual person, but the codename for an elite team of soldiers whose sole purpose is the defend the world from the evil plans of Cobra. Duke leads a force made up of characters that could be purchased individually at ChildWorld. Cobra was led by Cobra Commander and Destro, the evil scientist. They were the original terrorists that threatened America and the world. Unlike Super Friends, where a majority of the screen time features barely animated talking heads with a little action, the G.I. Joe episodes have more action than a Michael Bay flick. This is less talk, more rock. Cobra is a well-armed force with massive headquarters. Where do they get their funding? And why did they spend a fortune on a gladiator arena when that cash could have gone to buying more laser cannons? The first three miniseries (five episodes long) can be played like a movie even though they do include the bumpers for the commercial breaks. There’s 22 episodes spread over the 4 DVDs. They biggest bonus feature is the 1963 product introduction reel for the original G.I. Joe dolls. It’s a big thrill to see the four dolls with their numerous military outfits. Easy to see why they became a major seller with the cool weapons. Your father (or even grandfather) will get a kick out of this vintage footage. Prepare to freeze frame so he can figure out which accessories he got for his birthday in 1966. They also have numerous “Knowing Is Half the Battle” PSAs that get spoofed on Robot Chicken. There’s ads featuring the ’80s action figures. As an added bonus, you get a few G.I. Joe and Cobra tattoos.

Reno 911: The Complete Sixth Season, Uncensored brings back America’s favorite messed up sheriff’s department. Things have changed on the force with Deputies Garcia, Johnson and Kimball gone. They’re replacements include Sgt. Declan (a suspected transvestite), Deputy Frank Rizzo (a drugged up undercover agent) and a receptionist (who enjoys giving extras). The chemistry change breaths a fresh breath into the act. Rizzo’s stake out with Jones is hilarious as they keep doing illegal acts to prove they’re legit. Jones and Williams infiltrate a swingers party that leads to a key exchange. The force does their best to make Reno unattractive to avoid a visit from the Pope. They don’t want to deal with the extra work. Two episodes deal with Dangle suspected of homicide at his murder mystery party. There are commentary tracks. The bonus features includes nearly an episode of outtakes including the complete commercials for linoleum floors and the sheriff’s department. A really long sketch features the guys from Human Giant pushing the worst vacation deal ever on the cops. There’s 15 more episodes on 2 DVDs. The incompetent cop humor is in full force in Reno once more.

Arthur Hailey’s Hotel: The First Season is the Love Boat for people who get sea sick. The guest stars checked into San Francisco’s St. Gregory Hotel for adventures that were a little less light than on the Pacific Princess. The place is run by James Brolin (best known as Mr. Barbra Streisand or Josh Brolin’s dad). The pilot movie has Bette Davis owning the joint, but they cart her away before the regular season. The movie does have Erin Moran in her post Happy Days glam. She’s supposed to be a singer. This first season is packed with semi-major stars including Richard Hatch (both Battlestar Galacticas), Gary Collins (Drunk RV driver), Vic Tayback (Mel from Alice), Heather Locklear (pre-Cougar), Scatman Crothers (The Shining), and Adrienne Barbeau (Maude). Roy Thinnes (The Invaders) plays a guest who can’t remember who he is. If he walks out on his bill, they’ll know who he is. The most stunning moment is Tori Spelling as a little gal. She got this role without any help from her father, executive producer Aaron Spelling. Hotel‘s weird casting keeps it lighter than the scripts intended it to be.

July 8, 2009
Party Favors: REAPER’s Bret Harrison & Tyler Labine

HELL, MICHIGAN – Sometimes even a deal with the devil isn’t a guarantee of network renewal. There was hope that Reaper would gain a third season. The series about Sam Oliver (Bret Harrison) forced by the devil (Ray Wise) to be a bounty hunter of demons had grown a loyal following. However Sam’s biggest evil spirit lurked in an office at the CW.

To celebrate the release of Reaper: Season Two, the Party Favors hotline received calls from Bret Harrison and Tyler Labine, who played Sock, Sam’s co-worker. Until that day Tyler called, there were rumors that the show might get picked up or even go to first run syndication. However things weren’t sounding good before the phone rang.

My first question to Tyler Labine was confirmation that the sets for Reaper had been struck.

“I don’t know if they’re officially torn them down. But we’re officially finito,” Tyler confirmed.

Did having a show in limbo for so long affect his career as an actor?

“It didn’t. Basically they committed suicide with our show by putting on us on against American Idol. We knew that things weren’t going well. Our creators had signed a new deal with Fox. The writing was on the wall that the show was pretty much done. I started shopping around for movies. A little TV show called Sons of Tucson over at Fox fell into my lap. They took a second position contract on me. I went and shot a new pilot that’s been picked up so we start production in September,” he jubilantly reported.

Is Sons of Tucson a spin-off of Sons of Anarchy?

“Nothing to do with Sons of Anarchy. It’s totally different. It’s a comedy. It’s going on Sunday nights between The Simpsons and Family Guy.

Does this mean Tyler will be sucking down Pawtucket Petes with Peter Griffin?

“I wish,” Tyler said. “I met Seth McFarlane at the up fronts. There was talk of me doing a guest star voice on Cleveland, the new Family Guy spin-off.”

What does he think of both seasons of Reaper being on DVD?

“It’s cool,” he said. “I’ve done shows that don’t get blessed with a DVD release. All that work and see you never again. It’s nice to know our show and characters will be immortalized on DVD. People can and should go out and buy them. They can get two seasons of a show that I really, really loved doing and cared about deeply. I’m super stoked that we got them all out on DVD.”

There’s an internet rumor that Reaper will continue as a comic book. Any truth to it?

“You’re not wrong,” Tyler confirmed. “The comic book is happening. People have been hinting that we should be able to get a two hour movie finale. You can never guess what’s going to happen there.”

The idea of a two hour movie based on the series isn’t that far fetched seeing how it was recently done for the cult hit Dead Like Me. Would Tyler consider reading the forthcoming graphic novels for a book on tape?

“Probably not,” he said. “I’m not adept enough at that kind of stuff. I’d rather people use their imagination than let me read it.”

Tyler’s been acting in high profile projects since 1991 in everything from Road to Avonlea, The X-Files and Dark Angel. But I had to ask about his outrageous role of Croker in Evil Alien Conquerors with North Carolina School of the Arts graduates Diedrich Bader (Office Space) and Chris Parnell (Hot Rod)

“Diedrich and Chris were great,” Tyler said. “It was really fun. But playing a guy who thinks he’s a 100 foot giant is physically taxing. I lost my voice for four months after shooting that movie. Ended up seeing a vocal pathologist. I may have to get vocal surgery. It was crazy, but it was so much fun. I loved working on it. That’s a once in a lifetime character if I’ve ever seen one. I thought the music turned out pretty funny.”

Another odd title on his filmography is Canadian Zombie. What Canuck has the tastiest brains in all of the Great White North?

“If I was a zombie, I would eat Gordon Campbell brains,” he speculated. “He’s our premier in British Columbia. He’s got probably got a tasty, mushy brain.

Was this film about the undead who wanted more than Tim Horton’s donuts?

“Canadian Zombie was a short film I shot for a friend. He basically went back to the old Night of the Living Dead making a political statement through a zombie film. It was more of a statement about zombies at the voting booths. We don’t get out there and vote enough as a country. We just had our election in British Columbia and 40 percent came out to vote. It’s staggeringly awful. The voters were so complacent at the polls because the Canucks were actually in the playoffs. People weren’t going out. They were staying at home drinking beer and watching hockey.”

In his career, Tyler has worked with some of the major creepy actors of our day including James Spader (Boston Public), Terrance Stamp (My Boss’s Daughter) and Ray Wise (Reaper). Which of these men would he describe as the most creepy to face on the set?

“Iconically creepy would definitely be Ray Wise… Leland Palmer,” Tyler declared. “The funny thing is the contrast. He’s so nice in everyday life. He’s a real sweetheart of a man. He’s a real joker. And then you just watch him turn on that creep. And you’re like, ‘Oh my god.’ He’s so good at it. He played one of my favorite villains of all time – Leland Palmer. I’ll definitely have to put my stamp on Ray.”

After his numerous appearances on Boston Legal playing Assistant District Attorney Jonathan Winant, could he hold his own in the courtroom of Judge Judy?

“Hell no,” he said. “I would be eating my foot and I’d be still be hungry eating my other foot. Pretending to know what I’m talking about is one thing, but I’d be terrible defending myself. Plus I’d probably be guilty.”

Recently Tyler finished A Good Old Fashioned Orgy with Don Johnson (Miami Vice. Since he’d also worked with William Shatner on Boston Public, Tyler would be an authority in knowing who would win in a Fight Club beatdown: The Shatner or Don Johnson.

“I got to go with D.J. on that one,” he declared. “I gotta say that Don was looking fit. Shatner, not that he’s completely falling apart, but I think Don Johnson would have the cutting edge there.”

Bret Harrison called up a few days later. He’s been a primetime fixture since 2001 when he appeared as Brad on Grounded For Life followed by Fox’s The Loop. Reaper was his second series as the lead. The news of the show’s cancellation had settled. I was compelled to ask him how much does he hate American Idol?

“I don’t watch American Idol. I don’t despise it,” Bret said. “Am I supposed to despise it?”

He’s reminded that when Reaper returned for its 13 episode second season, CW put it right up against the ratings juggernaut.

“Right. Right. I stopped paying attention. That’s what I do,” he explained. “That’s what you learn to do when you’re on a show that’s on the bubble and you’re trying to break through. You pay to attention to that stuff too much and you start to go crazy.”

The act of being sacrificed in such a horrible time slot brings out the conspiracy theory that the CW didn’t want Reaper to have a sophomore bounce.

“I think there’s probably somebody behind a big door saying, ‘We’re going to kill the show.’ It’s predestined. I hate to say that,” Bret admitted.

However Bret likes the fact that both seasons of Reaper will be available on DVD. Those who were too mesmerized by Adam Lambert can have a chance to catch what they missed over the last few months. Bret enjoys buying season sets and binge viewing.

“The few shows that I’ve gotten into I don’t watch on TV. I buy the DVDs and end up watching them like Dexter in a week,” Bret said. He used this same method to watch HBO’s The Wire.

What excites the star of Reaper about his upcoming boxset?

“I’m really curious about seeing the gag reel,” he said.

Does Bret ever figure out creative ways to blow take in order to get into the gag reel?

“I learned a long time ago that you do not do that because they use those takes sometimes,” he warned. “The gag reel is very authentic.”

After two seasons of playing a guy working at a mega-hardware store, how does Bret get treated when he strolls into a Home Depot? “I haven’t needed to visit the Home Depot in past couple months,” Bret said. “I feel like it could work in my favor. I think I could get help now. I’ve never had a good experience at Home Depot.”

How did he react when he was told that Ray Wise would be his nemesis?

“I didn’t know who he was. They said, ‘You got to check this guy out. He’s done sixty something films.’ I googled and saw a picture of him. I was like, “Oh my God, they hit gold. That’s the guy. The guy is the cool Frank Sinatra Devil guy. He’s so good.”

His desire to watch TV shows on DVD came into play once more. “I ended up buying the first season of Twin Peaks and got into that,” he said.

Over the course of the 21st century, Bret has been a fixture on network TV with three series. But none of them had anything close to a conventional season. The first season of Reaper was interrupted by the writer’s strike. Does he dream of a time he hooks up with a show that doesn’t have scheduling hiccups?

“That would be nice. That’s the dream of getting on a show that’s a huge hit. Even though the few shows I’ve done have had hiccups, I feel like they’ve all been good shows. I’d rather be on a show that’s having problems with the network and always on the bubble. There’s a core audience out there that really appreciates them.”

When it didn’t look like there would be a third season, did Bret snag a couple souvenirs from the set? “I took some bar glasses,” Bret said. He also snagged the remote control car that was used as a vessel.

Many people recognize Bret as the whipped neighbor on Grounded For Life. Who was more demanding: The Devil or Lily on Grounded For Life?

“I would say Lily,” Bret asserted.

Reaper: Season Two is available at your favorite DVD stores. Keep an eye out at your local comic book shop for the continuing adventures of Sam Oliver and the Devil.

WHAT SHE REALLY IS

Enough with the media comparing Megan Fox with Angelina Jolie. If anything, Fox is the second coming of Caroline Munro. Is there that much of a difference between Fox’s performance in Transformers and Munro in the epic Golden Voyage of Sinbad? If they ever remake that Ray Harryhausen flick, they ought to tattoo eyeballs on Fox’s palms.

SEE YOU IN THE FALL

The hottest new cable show will be Cream of Soup being executive produced by me.

Each week you’ll be able to tune into Cream of Soup to see the best clips of Comcast’s 20 Soup shows. What’s better than our host cracking jokes about clips from the numerous clipshows such as E!’s The Soup with Joel McHale, Versus’ Sports Soup with Matt Iseman, G4’s Web Soup with Chris Hardwick, Style’s The Dish with Danielle Fishel and RFD’s Caboose Soup with Boxcar Willie Jr. Plus we’ll be having the laughlights from VH1’s Best Week Ever and Comedy Central’s Tosh.0 There’s not enough time in the weekend to watch all those comic commentary clipshows. Cream of Soup will give you the highlights and the outright bombs so you’ll be the cool guy at the watercooler on Monday morning. We can’t announce the name of our host, but he was nominated for a Cable Ace Award, held the Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Belt and saved the Pope’s life.

NO JUSTICE FOR JUDGES

I’m furious that once more a president has discriminated against our greatest judicial minds when it comes time to appoint a Supreme Court Justice. Did you notice whose names didn’t even come close to be discussed as replacements for Justice Souter? Not one short listed judges had their own TV show. Where’s the justice?

This ugliness goes back to when Ronald Reagan scoffed off The People’s Court‘s Judge Wapner. You’d expect the end of this stigma to be part of the change we need.

What disqualifies Judge Greg Mathis from sharing the shower room with Chief Justice Roberts? He’s got a biography that gets told to America every day. He testifies, “Troubled kids? I was one. Gangs? Jail? I was there. Second chances? I got one. I went to law school, became a lawyer, and then a judge. Now I get to give second chances. It’s time for hard decisions and tough love. Justice that makes a difference; that’s what I’m about!” Where is his chance?

The most popular judge in America is Judge Judy. America loves her verdicts. She’s not a game player. How can you not be moved to hear a judge proclaim, “Lawyers are always asking me if I will cut some slack for their clients. My standard answer is this is not Let’s Make A Deal.” Why didn’t she get a presidential interview at Camp David?

If the president wanted a Latina woman on the bench, why not short list Marilyn Milian from The People’s Court? She’s the first Hispanic TV justice. Why not let her keep trailblazing to Washington D.C.? What makes her less of a judge than a court of appeals sitter? She might have a lot of explaining before the senate about knowing Harvey Levin. But she’s a pro before the cameras. She can charm the hardest neo-con into thinking she’s not going to ruin the Constitution.

When the next justice decides it’s time to step down, this administration must seriously consider picking a justice who has figured out a way to hear cases in the private sector. The president wanted to hire a TV doctor (CNN’s Sanjay Gupta) to be the Surgeon General. Why are legal minds ineligible for the top job because they wear a little make up during hearings?

BLAH GAME

Who thought it was a swell idea to make a movie adaptation of Moneyball with a $50 million budget? Are audiences ready to see Brad Pitt doing payroll math and breaking down walks to hits ratios? The pitch must have sounded been, ‘It’s like A Beautiful Mind with guys scratching themselves.’ Do we really crave Pitt playing Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane? Even with Stephen Soderbergh directing it sounds like The Horrible Truth About H.R. Block. Thankfully some young executive realized he might be eating Top Ramen for the next decade and red lit the production.

The only film about mathletes that made money was Mean Girls.

Soderbergh should have just adapted the book as a documentary for ESPN’s new major filmmaker program. Speaking of which, Spike Lee’s Kobe Doin’ Work was created with 30 cameras and one pair of kneepads. Kobe reminded me why I despise him so much from only 3 minutes of his self-fellatio narration on himself. This isn’t a tenth as good as Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait that Spike ripped off for this Hoover sponsored suck up. Thirty cameras watching Kobe? As if he’s not on camera for the entire game when a Lakers game is televised. I’d rather see 30 cameras following the 12th man on a team. What does he at the end of the bench? How does he warm up knowing that will be the only time he touches the hardwood for the night? Does he really shower after the game? Why couldn’t Spike tell us this man’s story?

ESPN did red light my special sports film which was going to be a 60 minute montage of fans at Fenway shouting “A Rod, You Suck!!!!” between highlights of him striking out.

BLU-RAY HEAVEN

The Jonas Brothers The 3D Concert Experience Deluxe Extended Movie Blu-ray Combo Pack is the winner of the quick gift to make you look like a cool uncle award. Inside the blue box is the concert film on Blu-ray, DVD and a disc with the digital copy. No matter what format the kid has connected to her bedroom TV, she ought to be able to watch the sibling trio. Only the Blu-ray disc contains the film in 3D. They include 4 sets of glasses with the red/blue lenses so you won’t hear the third kid screaming that she can’t see Nick Jonas unloading foam in her face. The music of the Jonas Brothers is pure bubble gum. Nick, Joe and Kevin appear happy while playing their hits including “That’s The Way We Roll” and “Burnin’ Up.” The last song has enough stage pyro to satisfy a wrestling fan. There’s a twisted moment where the three brothers shoot foam at the screaming teen girls sitting close to the stage. There are guest stars at the concert with Demi Lovato and Taylor Swift popping up for a song each. Snippets of the life of the Jonas Brothers including a Time Square mob scene when they showed up to buy their record at midnight. They’re not even autographing stuff for the fans. They race in the record store, buy the CDs and run back to their limo. Thousands packed the street like it was New Year’s Eve. Audrey, a friend’s 8 year old daughter, was glued to the set for the entire 89 minutes. The 3D does a fine job of separating the brothers during their solos. The bonus features include two more songs and a more footage of the brothers off the stage.

Mel Brook’s Spaceballs – Blu-ray brings the 1080p love to the sci-fi spoof of Star Wars. Decades ago before the Scary Movie series, Mel Brooks was the source of mocking movie genres. He struck gold with Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein. It seemed only natural that in 1987 he poked fun at George Lucas’s epic with his Borscht Belt humor. Daphne Zuniga is a spoiled Druish princess that doesn’t want to marry Prince Valium (Jim J. Bullock). During her bolt with a robotic Joan Rivers, she finds herself also running from Dark Helmet (Rick Moranis). He’s like Darth Vader except he has a mega-huge helmet. Her only hope is Lone Starr (Bill Pullman) and his co-pilot Barf (John Candy). Mel Brooks plays both the evil president and the mystical Yogurt (a Yoda knock-off). Darth Helmet’s ultimate goal is to hold the princess hostage so they can steal all the air off her planet with a unique version of the Death Star. My favorite moment involves the one man sound effect machine Michael Winslow as the radar technician. They should have had him make all the space noises. What funny is the scene where Brooks has Starr and Barf eating at an intergalactic greasy spoon diner. Years later Lucas would use this location in Attack of the Clones. Who influenced whom? The high def transfer is crisp and detailed. Joan Rivers has never looked better on the screen. There’s a bushel basket of bonus features including a commentary track from Brooks. There’s a documentary about the film, a tribute to John Candy and the flubs. The Exhibitor Trailer with Mel Brooks reminds us what a great salesman he was before going off to recycle his films on Broadway. They include a DVD of the movie so you don’t have to chose which version to buy. Spaceballs is still funny although not as hilarious as Phantom Menace.

THE DVD SHELF

Diary of Anne Frank: 50th Anniversary Edition adapts the journal of a teenage girl trapped in an attic with family and friends to avoid being executed by the Nazis in occupied Holland. There’s plenty of tension as they Nazis constantly search the neighborhood looking for hidden Jews. The black and white images allow the stark nature of their survival to be emphasized. Anne has a sense of hope even under such dire circumstances. I’m not going to spoil the ending. Director George Stevens didn’t go Hollywood on this true story. There are seven featurettes created for this new DVD. Millie Perkins recalls her time playing Anne Frank on both the commentary track and on camera. We also get to explore George Stevens’ service in World War II. He didn’t merely watch battle action in the safety of his screening room. There’s also a Blu-ray with the bonus features.

Two Lovers might be Joaquin Phoenix’s last film role if he truly devotes himself to his rap career. He plays a guy who has suffered a breakdown that caused him to break up with his fiance and move back with his parents in Brooklyn. He’s stuck in his childhood bed. He delivers clothes for his dad’s dry cleaning. But life isn’t that bleak. He ends up getting entangled with Vinessa Shaw (Eyes Wide Shut) and Gwyneth Paltrow. But can he really enjoy his time with these women? The man has issues. Two Lovers could have easily turned into a stupid romantic comedy with Matthew McConaughey, but it doesn’t. Two Lovers stays grounded with the characters instead of jumping to the whims and expectations of an audience. After the film was over, I felt myself getting angry that Joaquin jerked out with this rapper charade.

Petticoat Junction: The Official Second Season brings the biggest star of the ’70s to the spotlight: Benji! Well his name is Higgins the Dog at this point. But he’s the super mutt who arrives at the Shady Rest Hotel at the start of the season. “Betty Jo’s Dog” wastes no time in letting the pooch dominate the show. He’s almost as imposing a figure as Arnold Ziffel on Green Acres. Petticoat Junction is about Bea Benaderet (the voice of Betty Rubble) and her three daughters running a hotel that’s between Hooterville and Pixley on the train line. The 36 episodes on Season Two have the homespun humor you find on The Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres. Most of the episode have the hot daughters planning for their future. Edgar Buchanan comes up with scams to make the hotel feel busy. Several characters from Green Acres got their start here including Fred Drucker (Frank Cady) and Mr. Ziffel.

Matlock: The Third Season starts off with the reunion of Andy Griffith and Don Knotts. This time Don plays Andy’s new neighbor. In an un-Barney Fife manner, Don gets accused of killing a used car salesman. Seymour Cassel plays a rival used car dealer. There’s a chance a people thought he was an aging Goober. There’s only 20 episodes this season of homespun judicial prudence. “The Thoroughbred” brings us the magic of Don Swayze, the brother of Patrick. “The Cult” has Matlock sending Kene Holiday to infiltrate a cult in order to find out who killed their leader. No matter how tight the action seems, there’s something way too relaxing about the cases on Matlock. You’ll never drop your sweet tea in shock. What makes this enjoyable viewing is seeing Andy and Don sharing screentime. They were priceless in their chemistry.

Saving Grace: Season Two brings more of Holly Hunter to the little screen. She’s an Oklahoma City detective with a lot of issues. She’s doesn’t hold back her desires when it comes to smoking, drinking or screwing. She’s dealing with an angel from God that’s trying to clean up her wicked ways. Can she save herself? Or will everyone around her drive her nuts. There’s 14 episodes on the boxset that touch upon an impending marriage and death.

Burn Notice: Season Two is another 16 episodes from USA’s freelance spy hit. The big reason to watch is Bruce Campbell. Why isn’t he on a Bond film? Also nice to see Gabrielle Anwar pulling off a little espionage. Jeffrey Donovan looks great with his spy sunglasses. This is just a smooth and sexy series.

GIVEAWAYS

CBS DVD is being twice as nice with two giveaway for lucky readers.

CBS DVD has given us 5 copies of Petticoat Junction: The Official Second Season to give to very special Party Favors readers. In order to win, answer this question: Who owned Higgins the dog? Send your answer, name and address to mokaha@aol.com. Put “Petticoat” in the subject.
CBS DVD has also given us 5 copies of Matlock: The Third Season to give to very special Party Favors readers. In order to win, answer this question: Where did Matlock shoot its final season? Send your answer, name and address to mokaha@aol.com. Put “Matlock” in the subject.

Family, friends and Abe Simpson are not eligible to win.

July 2, 2009
Trailer Park: STAR TREK – Review / Eric Lange of LOST

By Christopher Stipp

The Archives, Right Here

So, I was able to sit down for a couple of years and pump out a book. It’s got little to do with movies. Download and read “Thank You, Goodnight” right HERE for free.

And now, you can follow me on Twitter under the name: Stipp. This week saw all sorts of conversations about the horribleness of Wolverine and the promise that Star Trek would easily dethrone the big cat with claws at the box office this weekend.

***CONTEST – THE FALL AND RISE OF REGINALD PERRIN***

What was just a fleeting opportunity to promote another DVD turned into something of a curiosity to me.

I had never heard of The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, for the most obvious reason that it was on the BBC in the late 70’s, but after watching a few clips I have to admit I am more curious to watch this and am wanting to give you rascals the chance to see what could be just the thing to get me going as all my other shows on television are dipping below the surface, not to return until the fall.

I have a few copies of the series on DVD. If you’d like a chance to win one just shoot me a note at Christopher_Stipp@yahoo.com and let me know your favorite BBC program. It’s as easy as that.

More about the show:
Michael Scott of “The Office” didn’t write the book on career disillusionment. Back in the “˜70s, Reginald Perrin was fighting his own demons at Sunshine Desserts. The BBC’s “The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin” starred brilliant actor Leonard Rossiter (Barry Lyndon, 2001: A Space Odyssey) and aired from 1976-1979 to great critical and popular acclaim. The darkly-comedic series featured an outstanding cast of Britain’s best ““ Pauline Yates (Darling, “Peacekeepers”), Sue Nichols (“Coronation Street”, “Crossroads”), and Geoffrey Palmer (A Fish Called Wanda, Tomorrow Never Dies). This spring, E1 Entertainment brings all 21 episodes, plus “The Reginald Perrin Christmas Special” to DVD for the first time. THE FALL AND RISE OF REGINALD PERRIN: THE COMPLETE SERIES arrives in-stores as a 4-DVD set on May 12 for $59.98 SRP.

The DVD release of “The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin” is sure to excite classic British comedy fans, as will the revival of the series by the BBC this fall. BBC One has announced that Martin Clunes (“Doc Martin,” Shakespeare in Love) will play the title character in “Perrin,” which will be written by the original series writer and creator David Nobbs with “Men Behaving Badly” writer Simon Nye.

Eccentric sales executive Reginald Perrin is disillusioned with his life and unrewarding job at Sunshine Desserts. As the stresses of his mundane life surface, he pushes the boundaries of acceptable behavior at work. Finally, Reggie reaches a breaking-point, his mid-life crisis leading him to an extreme attempt at escape. He leaves his clothes on a bench at the beach, and fakes his own suicide. Instead of starting a new life somewhere else, Reggie tours the countryside assuming a variety of disguises ““ from buck-toothed pig farmer to pompous explorer. In his attempt at finding fulfillment, he discovers he truly misses his wife, and he returns home to start a brand new life. But, will he fall back into the same old routine again and again?

STAR TREK – REVIEWED

“How often people speak of art and science as though they were two entirely different things, with no interconnection. An artist is emotional, they think, and uses only his intuition; he sees all at once and has no need of reason. A scientist is cold, they think, and uses only his reason; he argues carefully step by step, and needs no imagination. That is all wrong. The true artist is quite rational as well as imaginative and knows what he is doing; if he does not, his art suffers. The true scientist is quite imaginative as well as rational, and sometimes leaps to solutions where reason can follow only slowly; if he does not, his science suffers.” – Isaac Asimov

After thinking about the highest compliment I can confer on this film it would be this: I want to see this movie again.

Something I didn’t realize I’ve missed after all the films I’ve seen in the last year is the innate sensation after the credits roll when you know you could sit through another viewing. That moment when you honestly could sit back down in the theater and watch the movie all over again with the same pleasure as you did before it started the first time. What JJ Abrams has managed to create is a summer film that bridges the chasm between those who have simmered in the Star Trek universe broth for decades, and explains to some degree why the franchise was in such dire straits as the latter films sputtered towards extinction, and those of us who just want to be entertained by a thin story and giant explosions.

JJ delivers on all the elements necessary to crafting a great mass market summer film starting with an opening reminiscent of BAMBI, FINDING NEMO and any other Disney film when a child needs to learn the tragedy of life from the get-go. What the first 10 minutes feel like is JJ finding his groove and to lay the foundation of what’s to come; the sequence establishes the tenor and mood of the entire film. So many times you have an opening sequence that seems so well-crafted that the next hour and 50 minutes couldn’t possibly live up to the great first chapter when you realize there was never enough in the tank to go more than a mile. JJ seems ballasted by not only knowing what is needed for every moment to feel weighty, in that every moment feels like it belongs and adds something extra to the overall whole, but his world as he’s creating it feels real.

Now, reality as I’ve come to define it after seeing STAR TREK is one that has rules but has to convince others to believe the reality. Keeping in mind we’re talking about warping star ships, phasers, drills that are miles long that can burrow into the center of a planet, interdimensional time warps and scads of other nuanced things that simply are not real. However, JJ and Co. manage those observations in a delicate balance of delivering superb special effects but not leaning on them like a crutch, an awful disease that many directors have succumbed to as of late. It’s the actors, deigned with the opportunity to bring a fantastical script to an even more apparent reality, that deserve some notice and praise.

Chris Pine (James Kirk), who up until this point charmed me in his turn as a twisted and demonic hillbilly in SMOKIN’ ACES, does a superb job playing the would be/will be Shatner. He carries himself with a hint, a whiff, of obnoxiousness that makes his role one that exudes a swagger rolled up with the classic underdog trope of a boy who needs to become a man. His boyhood mischief, his bar room brawls are nothing more than flimsy set-ups to show the depths of which he’s lost in his own PR and male bravado as a Lothario that never can seal the deal with Uhura (Zoe Saldana). But, and this is key, it’s the moment when Kirk meets Bones (Karl Urban) when you can feel the velocity of this film taking hold and never relenting. It’s also the time when we meet up with a young Spock (Zachary Quinto) who lives on planet Vulcan. What’s silly, of course, is to suppose this is all happening on a real planet removed from the safety of Earth’s natural berms and landscape but Abrams wills and makes Vulcan seem like a planet; the effects here are slight but rich in impact. He gives his situations, and all situations from start to finish, a polish, a thin veneer, of reality. Yes, Vulcan exists. Yes, cops of the future do ride motorcycles that fly. Yes, it is possible to beam from a ship to a planet’s surface; all the while, mind you, of never compromising the intentions of the actors in the scenes they’re in.

Kirk’s eventual rise to power as the ship’s captain is an intriguing one if not completely predictable, and there is a lot of goofiness to be had in the moments leading up to the logical blocks that are put in front of him from even being allowed ON the Enterprise, but these are all quibbles with the film’s focus on creating a summer movie. You could find yourself straining at wondering at the logical issues concerning the film’s villain Nero (a one-noted and camouflaged performance by Eric Bana) and his actions, however, this would take away from the sheer delight in wondering at the sight of John Cho (Sulu) kicking in some Romulan head during the film’s first real hand-to-hand combat scene, witnessing the fate of the first red shirt to go into battle and feeling the physics involved to make me believe that this all seems plausible as a viewer. Suspension of disbelief is not enough in this film as JJ takes the effects to a level that should cement this movie’s place as one of the more intensely enjoyable movies of the summer movie season.
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As well, when you consider all the personalities that need to be juggled, from introducing an entire ship’s worth of STAR TREK regulars to the plot that can get a touch convoluted if not completely unbelievable, Abrams manages to make you care about each one of them. Now, the depths to which we care can be debated but for the core cast of regulars there isn’t one throw-away moment for any of them especially when you consider the handful of characters that seemed to be much for lesser directors of recent summer films. It is important to give everyone the chance to be meaningful to the film’s progression, for if they weren’t why even be included in a script and, at that point, if they were I could guarantee a troubled film, and JJ does that. From Chekov’s minor miracles to Simon Pegg’s (Scotty) delightful and atmospheric comedic relief at a moment when the film delivers one of the more emotionally charged scenes STAR TREK is a record that knows what speed to play at without ever speeding up or slowing down unnecessarily. The movie is filled with enough crags and crevices which bring us to the penultimate moment but to explain them would spoil the fun of witnessing the birth of a franchise that finally is able to appeal to those like me who are familiar with the characters but aren’t beholden to the rigid back history of the iconic series. This isn’t to say, though, the film doesn’t have some issues.

The musical cues seem a little too ostentatious at times and threatens to take over the production and, unless you’re Ray Charles, there is no way not to notice the copious use the many lens flares that JJ seems to use as if he were a little kid just shown how to fire a gun; he loves using both almost to the detriment to the picture. The writing, as well, could be picked apart and dissected like a splayed open frog in biology class but, really, if you’re going to take issue with a summer film which is specifically designed to generate income and to be one of the few movies to help a studio make its annual nut you need to understand a few theories of basic economics. Which isn’t to say JJ has to make an inferior product, and he absolutely does not, but it’s important in understanding that the movie is not some artistic vision that can stand up to scrutiny if you were to compare it to a film like MILK. These kinds of films, these summer films, are made to entertain and to hopefully coming back for more. I already know this film is a special one in that I am already thinking about when I can see it again.

Forget WOLVERINE, STAR TREK is the real beginning of your summer.

ERIC LANGE of LOST

There’s this great Night Court episode that has always stayed with me ever since I saw it air decades ago. Harry, played by Harry Anderson, has to convince a very deranged woman who is brandishing a grenade in his court that what she sees on television is not reality. The blend of humor and the very not funny threat of someone dying was emblematic of a series that blurred the line of what a sitcom was. So, too, is my love affair of Lost.

A program that has dared me to leave it more than once and a program that keeps finding ways to bring me back, Lost provides audiences with the kind of drama that looks to challenge traditional methods of storytelling on television. So, it was with great anticipation that I was able to talk to Eric Lange, who you all know by the name Stuart Radzinsky and rocks a beard like no other on that show, wherein I was able to find out more about the man who has become synonymous with supreme jerkitude on the series. The “others” may be mysterious and wanton in their violence and malevolence towards others but Lange is just plain mean.

It was a pleasure, then, to talk to the actor playing Radzinsky. What I found was an actor just excited to be playing a role like this, in a series like this. His passion for the craft was something refreshing when you consider how far gone other performers can get when they stop seeing the ephemeral winning lotto ticket in their hand. Eschewing any question that even tiptoes the line of “What can be expect from the season finale…” I instead wanted to know more about him as an actor, a working actor, and what this opportunity means to his career.

From ditching the series as a viewer to realizing the importance of bug spray there couldn’t be a better jerk on television who I hope finds success after he finds his way off the island. The series finale airs this upcoming Wednesday, May 13th on ABC.

CHRISTOPHER STIPP: I’ve been reading a little bit about you as an actor and what led you here to Lost. I’m really just curious to find out, at least to start off things with what happened from 1998 and 2001 where there doesn’t seem to be much from you?

ERIC LANGE: ’98 and 2001? Well, to be honest, when I first moved to LA I couldn’t get an agent or get anyone to represent me theatrically so I was doing a lot of theatre which is sort of my roots ““ theatre and commercials ““ and every now and then I got friends to come to a play I was in and toss me a job here and there. That’s what the Bold and the Beautiful is and my early, early jobs. But really they were just from people that knew me at the time.

So it’s really all I was doing.

Then after that it just of moved into commercials. I was doing commercials for about 7 years here and making a living that way and saying I was a working actor but I obviously wanted to be making movies and scripted television. So then I ended up doing another play years later and a friend of mine brought her manager to the play and he picked me up. After that things moved relatively quickly because I had all that time here doing commercials and theatre to just sort of marinate and get ready for the day I was going to be able to get into rooms and I would be able to work relatively quickly. So that’s sort of the reason for that gap.

CS: Certainly after that it looks like Lost is the longest time you’ve spent on scripted television.

LANGE: Yes. I had smaller recurring things on other shows earlier. LAX, the Heather Locklear/Blair Underwood show I was on for just a little bit and just prior to Lost I did a show called 26 Miles which was like a 6 episode pilot basically. It was made to be sold as a half season and then a network or studio would pick up the other half of the season. So, that was 6 episodes and that was my longest stint and now Lost is a little past that, so you are correct.

CS: So how did this come into your life? Was it one of those things where you were just out on auditions or were you asked to audition for it?

LANGE: Yes, my manager called and said you need to audition for this or that and I was particularly excited about this because I wanted to do something on that show for so long I just had the highest respect for it and wanted to be on there. The show I had done previously, the 26 Miles pilot, I had about 6 months before that started and I was going to do it and I had to change rather drastically. My hair was always rather short so I spent all this time growing my hair out and this beard and so I thought if I’m ever going to be on Lost, now is the time to do it. I got the beard, the long hair, I can pop out of the jungle. I could say I was on the plane, or I was an accountant, or something.

(Laughs)

So, I just went in to audition. It’s not a typical audition with them. Usually you go to meet the producers in an audition ““ and the writer ““ but with Lost because everybody is in Hawaii you’re really just reading for the casting director and somebody films you and they mail the tape off and you either get it or you don’t. So it felt like such a simple process for what became such a great job. You know?

CS: Yes, and an interesting character too. We all know how he ends up but it’s really interesting to see how he gets to where that finite end is. Could you speak a little bit about how… I read in a previous interview where there really wasn’t so much direction given to you regarding these origins of the character but you were allowed to make him up – as it were?

LANGE: The original audition ““ I know I’ve spoken about this before ““ but they didn’t even have the name Radzinski on the audition side it was this Marty Jankowski guy. So that’s who I was auditioning for initially. So, when I got the job they called and said you are playing Radzinski and the name sort of rang a bell. I wasn’t sure why it was so secretive but that’s how a lot of things are on that show. I ended up googling him and found all these web pages about him and immediately got very nervous about the shoes I had to fill.

It was evident that there were a lot of fans that were curious about him and what he knows and why he offs himself and all these different things and I though, boy, I have a lot of people to please. So I ended up calling my manager and said is there something they want me to know? Now, knowing where we are going to take him eventually, or if they will, knowing where he ends up in the bible of Lost, is there something they want me to know now that I could put in play and the answer was a pretty definitive no. They said, “No, if we want him to know something we’ll tell him.” It was good in a sense because I had the information about where the guy’s going to eventually go and I had the scripts and the words they give me are rather strong clues to what kind of person he is. But I did get to work a fair amount on my little back story and sort of create this guy from scratch. The guy we’ve heard about but never seen.

CS: And you mentioned something about Lost having something close to a bible. The pantheon of fans out there…that there’s no detail that goes unnoticed with the people who really dig this show. How was that knowing that every tick, every peculiarity is poured over? I don’t know if you ever now gone back to see what people are talking about and see if people are really on the mark or off the mark with about what’s to come later on in the season?

LANGE: You mean in terms of what they were picking up about him before him even being seen or since I started on the show?

CS: That’s interesting. I would be interested in hearing both. First of all, we caught glimpses of him and now that you are fully realized ““ what people are saying now about the character.

LANGE: Well, you know. Let me think. I just want to make sure about what you are asking. You are asking how I feel about what people are saying about the guy now that he’s out there?

CS: Correct. Now that people have had the chance to see you, what are they saying about you?

LANGE: Well, I don’t have a lot of fans. Let’s put it that way.

(Laughs)

I’m hoping people are enjoying it but obviously he’s a thorn in the side of our heroes at this point and it is interesting that he’s so hot blooded. That does contribute to someone who could put a shotgun in his mouth. He’s a wildly passionate individual and it was sort of assumed early on that the guy had some wild knowledge about a lot of things and now we find out that he was the architect of the Swan so he’s been credited with being a genius or scientist. But, no, the few things I’ve been sent from friends and from what I’ve seen on the internet is pretty hard to read sometimes.

(Laughs)

I’ve been called all sorts of names. He’s a problem child but in terms of my fears about living up to the expectations of the fans. I just said I’m going to make what I make and hopefully they can get behind it. The thing to me about playing people like that is as long as there’s justification for the way they act, people can get behind it. And with him, we are sort of catching him in the middle of a period for him. In the middle of building the Swan and his work with Darma and so I just created this thing in my head that he was sort of told a story that he was going to be this big deal there and when he got there there were all these other people running around and touching his stuff and running projects and he sort of wanted to run the show so that’s the place I’m taking it from now but there’s got to be ways to justify the way he’s such a complete pompous ass he is and certainly leaving people curious enough without just hating the guy and writing him off, which is a danger.

CS: Correct. And this is one of the, and I don’t want to say tightest written series on television for sounding too hyperbolic, but looking at the scripts you are being given week after week, how do you respond to something when you are used to going on some of these shows, doing an episode and then leaving. Looking at a script where you are not allowed to know some things but know others… how does that all work in a cohesive sense when there are so many things going on at once?

LANGE: It’s tricky because you don’t know anything really. You know that at the end of some episodes that if there’s a story line left untold you assume that they will come back to it. So you do see some sort of arch but don’t know exactly where it’s going to go but it’s actually kind of exciting. I remember being in Hawaii at the hotel and the day that the scripts would come out running down from the Lobby wondering what the heck am I going to be doing this week. It’s been exciting. When you do one spot on one show you are gone. You don’t get that kind of thrill.

Every now and then it’s a little jarring, oh my goodness the things they have me saying and doing, the character they are forming as I find it in the script week to week and sometimes I find it a bit jarring and I have to go into my justification pile as say why is this important to him. And the bigger picture that this is sort of like war to him. He’s sort of like a general in an army and there are possible enemies lurking around and gaining information and that’s life and death. A lot of things on Lost aren’t life and death. But it’s a pretty curious thing. I sort of see him as a policeman who is jus trying to protect what they built and what they are working on and he just happens to get quite agitated when things don’t go his way, if any of that makes any sense.

CS: It does. You are now the 4th person I’ve talked to from the cast in the many years it’s been on. You hit a central theme when you say it’s all a matter of life and death and everyone who I’ve talked to says life off the set and in the set while you are working on it couldn’t been a more congenial and open and warm place to be.

LANGE: Absolutely.

CS: How have you responded to that sort of climate as an actor?

LANGE: Coming from doing one show at a time, mainly a guest star here and there, you sort of get thrown into this family that you don’t know but they have been working together for years and you are trying to look like a seamless part of this giant machine they have created. Sometimes the families are friendly and sometimes because they know you are leaving that week there is really no attempt to make any conversation or environment where you might feel more comfortable. Going into Lost when I first got the job I only knew I was doing two episodes. That was the deal. So I thought, well two episodes but I was a little intimidated because of the size of the show and the scope of that show and I thought, “My God, what if these people are monsters? What if their ego’s have gone to their head because they are on this giant train that is Lost?” And I could not have found anything farther from the truth.

I mean, from day one they were the most down to earth, friendly, there was no ego involved, just acceptance and I felt like I was part of the crew right away. They were really wonderful in that way. And when you are comfortable like that you are just able to do better work. You feel better about yourself, you can trust in what you are doing better and it’s just nice to have that support. But throughout my entire stint there I just grew closer and closer to those people and have a huge amount of respect for them on their behavior on the set and their generosity really. And, the crew is the same way. The crew is a lot of Hawaii based people, very down to earth, very kind and really it is funny how sort of light hearted the set is. It’s not that anyone’s careless about their work but it really is like a very friendly place to be. I had an absolute blast there.

CS: And one of the interesting things about the show itself too, for how many years it’s been on, you don’t hear anything about any petty sort of in-fighting or anything associated with some programs that are on a very long time that most succumb to. Any ideas of how they’ve managed to avoid needless drama?

LANGE: I don’t know. I’m always amazed when I hear about the drama on these things. It’s like you think when you get a job on that level you would just be happy to do you job and go home. I think part of it has to be because they are so removed. Being there in Hawaii is like you own little camp. Like you go to Lost camp. And they are not right there in Hollywood hearing about the bickering that goes on or seeing the power plays that get pulled. I think to some degree everyone just really likes being on the show and happy with their jobs and happy to be a part of something that has such an impact on culture in television. But, I think the distance is a big thing because when you get there it’s not like Hollywood. It’s Hawaii ““ a much different environment and relatively laid-back, peaceful place to be. I think it engenders that on the set as well.

CS: One of the things that I think makes you a perfect representation of Lost is that I read that you bailed on the series for a little while and then came back to it as you boned up on your part. I would think that any Lost fan agrees that this season just outshines ““ the writing is better, it’s tighter…How do you think they found their groove back? What’s your take on why it’s so good this season?

LANGE: Well, my take is that ““ I did. I hate to say it but somewhere at the end of season 3 I thought, boy, they did such a good job the first two seasons at peaking interest and creating mysteries and things I was just so curious about and wanted answers to, and they kept stretching them out.

And now my belief about why they did that is because they didn’t know how long they were going to be on the air. They didn’t know how long they were going to have to keep these things a mystery.

So I think for a while there it sort of felt like they were treading water. I don’t know if this is the fact or not but I got the sense of having to keep these story lines afloat because what if we are doing this for 10 years. And now that they have given themselves an end point, now they see a finish line and they are saying, what do we need to get in before the finish line? And it’s much easier to plot and plan and really build things on a more detailed level I would guess, episode to episode knowing they only have this many to go. So I think they are really sinking their teeth in and challenging audiences and giving everyone a great run for their money and a great piece of television.

CS: One of the other things that you brought up was that largely, the production is very picturesque. It’s done outside in Hawaii. What kind of challenges does filming on a beach, in jungles, in that kind of humidity present from day to day?

LANGE: That’s where I give props to their crew. I see these guys in season 5 and a lot of these guys are Hawaii based so they are used to working in that and used to working some adverse conditions and they are incredibly adapt at it. It’s amazing to watch how quickly and with such economy they can get these major shots set up and pulled off. And people running around the jungle with a steady cam. They are not running on boards. It’s dirt and mud. We had a couple days where it was very rainy and there was just mud everywhere. It’s so humid. I was there at relatively decent conditions given the time of the year. But it was 85 ““ 90 degrees and very humid and you got the bugs in the jungle. There were days I came off the set with many mosquito bites and I learned very quickly to take the bug spray when they offer it to you.

(Laughs)

But it was kind of fun. It feels very genuine as an actor. You are out in that. It’s not a sound stage with a bunch of plastic trees. You are in the jungle. It’s really exciting that way. But, it’s not a show for the faint of heart. There’s not always a trailer right next to where you are shooting but it makes it kind of fun. I always felt bad about complaining about anything because I’ve watched the show and know the things they have been through and this is nothing.

CS: I am amazed when I read an interview when someone from Lost says they are always trying to ply them for information about what’s coming next ““ to the extent that everyone dodges the question. It makes me feel uncomfortable, must make you feel uncomfortable. But, as the series now trends toward the end, do you feel, now that there is an end in sight, that we can expect more of the same of what we’ve been given this season?

LANGE: Oh yeah. My sense of it as it gets from this the new episode forward would be the variable forward the last episode Some Like it Hot was relatively, some themes in there, but it was relatively lighthearted for an episode of Lost. I think it’s partly because from here on out it ups the ante all the time. It becomes a great roller coaster ride. I think that the rest of the episodes to come and the finale should be some stupendous television. It really is quite an action packed end of season from this point forward.

CS: Having already taped the finale, when you reflect on it, how do you see your time on the program itself and what it’s done for you professionally and as an actor?

LANGE: My time on the program? I can’t say anything other than it was a dream job. It really was. To be on a show that you are already a big fan of and to have it go as well as it did for me ““ great challenge as an actor and befriend the people that work on that set ““ it was just nothing short of spectacular for me. And professionally, it really is amazing the difference between working on one level of show (and I won’t name names) and then working on Lost.

When my third episode aired, and I hadn’t really heard anything on the street and I went out over the weekend there must have been 10 different people that came up to me and said, “Are you Radzinsky? Lost is a great show.” So out of the blue people are starting to come up to me and things like that. It’s just a testament to the audience and kind of impact that show has.

You never know where your career is going to go or what opportunities are going to come to you or not but it certainly in terms of it’s stature I think it’s the biggest thing I’ve been a part of. I hope it does great things for my career, obviously but I’m already getting a sense that it is a bit bigger than you in some ways.

CS: I have to imagine ““ I know everyone talks about acting ““ “It’s just a job…It’s just something I do” – do you get some sort of thrill when you get recognized for being on the show?

LANGE: Yeah. I went to some art fair this guy walked by me and just yelled, “Radzinsky!” Like that’s my name, you know? And I turned around and said “Yeah?” and he said “I’m such a fan of the show” and he was with a friend and they introduced themselves and just the nicest people. Coming from theatre you do a role, you do a show and you get instant audience feedback. You get applause, you get laughter, you get validation that what you did meant something to somebody. But on television you never really get that. It just airs and who knows what anyone really thought of it. So it’s always nice to have people come up to you and say, “Hey, I dig the show” or “Dig what you’re doing.”

It’s just confirmation that you are on the right path in some way. It feels good that whatever it is you do makes somebody a little happier than they were before, I guess to put it simply. So yes, it’s a great feeling.

May 8, 2009
10 Quick Questions: Neko Case

By Christopher Stipp

The Archives, Right Here

So, I was able to sit down for a couple of years and pump out a book. It’s got little to do with movies. Download and read “Thank You, Goodnight” right HERE for free.

And now, you can follow me on Twitter under the name: Stipp. Some weeks you get lucky with the kind of information that people are talking about. This week a debate about whether video games are art and the new trailer for MOON created some waves.

Hey kids, before we get to the interview with Neko Case, and it absolutely is the highlight of my year, I had to mention my appearance on the latest ScreenGeeks podcast wherein I talk about Fox’s issues with piracy. I absolutely love those guys over there so please run, don’t walk, to hear me blather on. If that doesn’t convince you then knowing I am only on for a little bit and then leave should convince you to check it out. Enjoy.

[display_podcast]

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The music industry is dying a slow and protracted death. Note well that I am obviously not indicting the artists who are scraping by as their corporate overlords are wondering what ingenious scheme can wrest away more money from an audience that seems to be under the delusion that the $9.99 they’ve just spent at Best Buy for the latest Young Jeezy album is making its way back to young Jeez. What’s more is that their death is being expedited like a nurse smothering a patient looking to die by suffocation by the digital realm; one that has been relentless with its Wild West set of rules and laws. From free downloads, illegal downloads, RIAA lawsuits, digital distribution, FTP sharing services and an array of boneheaded moves by those in power to keep its power it’s a wonder this hasn’t happened faster.

From music industry promises to lower CD costs, to broken buisness models that simply do not work in the 21st century I welcome its demise.

Artists have proven that you don’t necessarily need big time distributors to help get their music out there, simply look at the new paths being blazed by Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor or Radiohead where a pay-what-you-want model seems to be taking root, but it’s the lazy and corpulent management of these labels that continue to try and play the game as it has always been played.

And that’s where Neko Case comes in.

A musician who has consistently proven herself as a versatile artist in crafting a sound with her 7 releases that you can’t label as anything but her own, Neko plays well with others; her stints in the band The New Pornographers has more than established her prowess as an individual who can either demonstratively make her presence known in a track like “Mood To Burn Bridges” from her 2000 release Furnace Room Lullaby or richly blended in a catchier than catchy song like “Spanish Techo” from The New Pornographers’ release Twin Cinema. Neko’s latest album Middle Cyclone is everything that her previous efforts have proven her so adept at doing: mixing emotion, steady hooks and grabbing you the very first moment you play a song like “This Tornado Loves You” or the title track “People Got A Lot of Nerve.” It’s the latter’s ability to make you want to see her play this song live that, in part, makes her a dynamic songstress. She makes you believe in the restorative power of music and strengthens my resolve that great music shouldn’t have to be this obsequious, opaque experience where you have to play a record more than a few times to “get it.” There isn’t anything wrong with that, just play Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot to someone for their first time and dare them not say something about its density, but Neko makes me want to elevate so many other of her peers who just don’t get it. This is absolutely one of the best albums released this year, she is now on tour throughout the US and I thought that having her answer a few questions in support of the album would be a nice way to expose all of you to all of her.

At about this time the convergence of record company and artist drove a wedge between getting this done.

I pride myself, at the very least, as someone who will go after a story when I think there’s something there. I’ll call, e-mail, voice mail, anything I can to get a response of “yay” or “nay.” Lots of times, loads of times, it’s a “nay.” Just this week I was given the Heisman when I tried to angle some time with the members of Spinal Tap who are now out in support of their acoustic Unwigged and Unplugged tour. I can respect that, however flimsy a response like “Right now their sched won’t permit” is. What made this request so unique is that it perfectly crystallizes the issue with dealing with PR flunkies who are above such niceties as returning an e-mail inquiry or phone call. Over at ANTI-Records, the label putting out Middle Cyclone, the situation was just inflamed by the shitheads over at ANTI where “real artists creating great records on their own terms” is a mantra who either feel a) that I am insignificant enough not to respond to, which I completely can understand b) above returning a call or e-mail in which case I hope this makes a woman like Hilary Villa, part of ANTI’s crack publicity team, feel special/mighty c) like they can be a pack of rude twats out of perceived entitlement. All valid reasons I tell you! I’ll be the first to admit that I am not very big, not very influential at all and not very invested in the music business. However, what I am, though, is a fan of music who has a small outlet with a small voice where once a week I can choose to help get the word out about something I think people should take a minute to digest. I have the e-mails and logged calls to back my story, I can map it out on an Etch-A-Sketch and prove my work if needed, but when you flat out can’t be bothered to communicate back with another human being it still gets under my skin all these years later doing this job.

So, rather than just forgetting the story I thought I would post the 10 questions I was going to ask Neko had her PR representatives not been a pack of troublesome assholes needing a little public flogging; those you choose to align yourself with are sometimes a reflection of you no matter how much you want to make the argument that one doesn’t have anything to do with another.

Again, though, buy Middle Cyclone and support one of the better talents working out there in music today. Better yet, knowing how much ANTI is skimming from the top of every CD sale I think it would be just as well to instruct to you to go out, get a ticket, see her live and buy some of her merch. At least that way the bastards at ANTI “real artists creating great records on their own terms” can go suck it…You pack of chuckleheads.

CHRISTOPHER STIPP: Neko, thanks for making the time to talk to me. You’re obviously busy so I hope to keep this brief. You good for time?

NEKO CASE:

CS: Good…So, I was wondering as I saw you during some of your recording sessions why you look to record some of your music in unconventional locales? I am speaking here of the barn you spent some time in.

CASE:

CS: I am not very up with the trappings of Tucson. Mostly, living here in Phoenix, I see it as an even more dusty backwater than its larger cousin. What do you find Arizona does to the creative juices? Mostly I find it just drains mine…

CASE:

CS: In this age of digital distribution I have to think that there is some lure to ditching conventional channels in favor of one that you could directly benefit from. Do you see yourself being tied to a label in 3 years, 5 years? Or, are they a necessary evil, with an emphasis on evil, in order for you to do best?

CASE:

CS: Some boys get into rock and roll so they can get laid. There doesn’t seem to be a function for it other than that with some of the kids out there trying to rock a mic. What made you think, or inspired you, to pick up a gee-tar and try to move some people?

CASE:

CS: This album isn’t a departure for you. I am thoroughly sick of hearing interviews with artists who feel the need to have a soundbite somewhere in the promotion process to say why their new album is unlike anything I’ve heard from them. You are content, and are excellent at, simply refining your sound and not changing much. Do you agree that you aren’t out to rediscover yourself, sonically, with every album?

CASE:

CS: With a track like “This Tornado Loves You” there is a lot swirling around in the harmony and in the lyrics. Do you find a song comes to you lyrically first and then a melody presents itself or does there seem to be a pattern with your writing?

CASE:

CS: Performing live. One of the things I enjoy when going to a show is how unique the artist can get with their songs. It doesn’t always happen but, for instance, Wilco will give you a little bit of a jam within a song that normally only lasts 3-4 minutes long. Do you like this sort of noodling, as it were, when you’re playing the same set again and again?

CASE:

CS: The track selection process. When you record your album the way you think you want it done is there a batting order of some kind that you come up with so that even though you have these songs that are quite unique there is some flow?

CASE:

CS: As you look towards where you’re going as an artist is it really just as easy to say “I just want to have fun” or is there some definitive point you want to reach in your career that might represent the ultimate moment which crystallizes why you got started with music in the first place?

CASE:

CS: Thank you, kindly, for your time today…

April 17, 2009
Trailer Park: Amber Borycki

By Christopher Stipp

The Archives, Right Here

So, I was able to sit down for a couple of years and pump out a book. It’s got little to do with movies. Download and read “Thank You, Goodnight” right HERE for free.

And now, you can follow me on Twitter under the name: Stipp. Some weeks you get lucky with the kind of information that people are talking about. This week a debate about whether video games are art and the new trailer for MOON created some waves.

Quick announcement for those readers living in Phoenix (surprisingly, there are a lot of you out there) there is a screening of Kevin MacDonald’s (ONE DAY IN SEPTEMBER, THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND) solidly casted film, STATE OF PLAY. The movie boasts the talents of Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, Helen Mirren and Robin Wright Penn so at the very least it’ll be pretty to look at.

The sneak screening is this Tuesday night, April 14th at Tempe Marketplace. Those interested know the drill. E-mail me at Christopher_Stipp@Yahoo.com and I’ll make it happen.

The film’s synopsis:

Handsome, unflappable U.S. Congressman Stephen Collins is the future of his political party: an honorable appointee who serves as the chairman of a committee overseeing defense spending. All eyes are upon the rising star to be his party’s contender for the upcoming presidential race. Until his research assistant/mistress is brutally murdered and buried secrets come tumbling out.

D.C. reporter Cal McAffrey has the dubious fortune of both an old friendship with Collins and a ruthless editor, Cameron, who has assigned him to investigate. As he and partner Della try to uncover the killer’s identity, McCaffrey steps into a cover-up that threatens to shake the nation’s power structures. And in a town of spin-doctors and wealthy politicos, he will discover one truth: when billions are at stake, no one’s integrity, love or life is ever safe.

As well, I’ve got a screening for SIN NOMBRE this week for Arizona dwellers.

The film, which is just a phenomenal debut from filmmaker Cary Fukunaga, is testament to the brilliance of those who are just looking for a change to tell the stories they believe in.

SIN NOMBRE is playing this Thursday, April 16 at 7 pm at the Harkins Camelview in Scottsdale, Arizona. E-mail me to get on the list…

Sin Nombre is an epic dramatic thriller written and directed by Student Academy Award winner Cary Joji Fukunaga in his feature debut. The filmmaker’s firsthand experiences with Central American immigrants seeking the promise of the U.S. form the basis of the Spanish-language movie.

Sin Nombre tells the story of Sayra (Paulina Gaitan), a teenager living in Honduras, and hungering for a brighter future. A reunion with her long-estranged father gives Sayra her only real option ““ emigrating with her father and her uncle into Mexico and then the United States, where her father now has a new family.

Meanwhile, Casper, a.k.a. Willy (Edgar Flores), is a teenager living in Tapachula, Mexico, and facing an uncertain future. A member of the Mara Salvatrucha gang brotherhood, he has just brought to the Mara a new recruit, 12-year-old Smiley (Kristyan Ferrer), who undergoes a rough initiation.

While Smiley quickly takes to gang life, Casper tries to protect his relationship with girlfriend Martha Marlene (Diana GarcÃa), keeping their love a secret from the Mara. But when Martha encounters Tapachula’s Mara leader Lil’ Mago (Tenoch Huerta MejÃa), she is brutally taken from Casper forever.

Sayra and her relatives manage to cross over into Mexico. There, they join other immigrants waiting at the Tapachula train yards. When a States-bound freight train arrives one night, they successfully rush to board ““ riding atop it, rather than in the cars ““ as does Lil’ Mago, who has commandeered Casper and Smiley along to rob immigrants.

When day breaks, Lil’ Mago makes his move and Casper in turn makes a fateful decision. Casper must now navigate the psychological gauntlet of his violent existence and the physical one of the unforgiving Mara, but Sayra bravely allies herself with him as the train journeys through the Mexican countryside towards the hope of new lives.

I also have 2 DVD giveaways: THE MINDSCAPE OF ALAN MOORE and A GALAXY FAR FAR AWAY – 10TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

Alan Moore writer, artist and performer is the world’s most critically acclaimed and widely admired creator of comic books and graphic novels. In The Mindscape of Alan Moore we see a portrait of the artist as contemporary shaman, someone with the power to transform consciousness by means of manipulating language, symbols and images. The film leads the audience through Moore’s world with the writer himself as guide, beginning with his childhood background, following the evolution of his career as he transformed the comics medium, through to his immersion in a magical worldview where science, spirituality and society are part of the same universe.

What I can tell you about watching this documentary is that is Alan Moore very much encapsulates independent thinking and raises it to an art form. Regardless of this stances on the metaphysical or the ephemeral Alan is able to distill some very complex thought patterns into cohesive narratives that at once entertain and mind bend.

The documentary frames this writer as the master of his own donat, his own language. He is no ordinary writer, to be sure, and this documentary wonderfully dovetails with the WATCHMEN film in that here is a film that at once explains the why’s and how’s and then goes on to wrap your brain around the mysticism of Alan’s thought patterns. There are some more than excellent interviews with those he’s collaborated with and this documentary will more than satiate anyone wanting to know more about the man who has, in popular media, only been known as the guy who didn’t want his name attached to the film adaptations of his work.

I have a few to give away and if you’re interested please stick the words “Alan Moore” in the subject line of an e-mail and shoot it over to me at Christopher_Stipp@Yahoo.com

Featuring interviews with hundreds of fans, movie executives, and high profile celebrities, A GALAXY FAR FAR AWAY delves into the franchise that has made household names of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, R2-D2 and C3PO. As a new wave of Star Wars mania was being induced in “˜99, Jalal brought his cameras to Star Wars conventions, to boisterous nationwide premieres, into the homes of devoted fans showing off their treasures and collectibles and captured those who spent 42 days on line, just to be first to see The Phantom Menace.

Interviews and archival footage featured includes Samuel L. Jackson, Joe Pesci, genre filmmaker Roger Corman, Meat Loaf, Dennis Franz, Andy Garcia, Jimmy Kimmel and Star Wars alumnus David Proust (Darth Vader), Kenny Baker (R2-D2), Anthony Daniels (C3-PO) and Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca). Offering a complete, often hilarious, exploration of George Lucas’ crowning achievement that brings together a group of fascinating, passionate, hysterical — and often touching ““ fans, A GALAXY FAR FAR AWAY is not just a film about overzealous fanboys.

Instead, it plumbs the depths of a common, shared love that knows no boundaries and seeks answers to a stunning phenomenon that continues to live on like Yoda.

I love documentaries like this. There is something about the examination of any subculture where I’ve had a passing interest. To wit, TREKKIES has set the bar for me in regards of simplicity and its lo-fi sheen. In the middle of this average documentary I not only came to understand why some will dress up and descend on conventions simply to indulge their passion as fans of this science fiction program. The interviews always draw me in, I cannot start this film without going all the way through and I suspect the same will happen for this documentary. It hits the notes it has to with its exploitation of the crazies who are genuinely into this but it also has some solid interviews with those who have inside the sphere, first-hand knowledge of the universe that George Lucas has crafted. Say what you will about the man but he has parted a lot of people with their money. This documentary absolutely shows where a lot of that cash has gone.

I’ve got a few copies available to give away so if you’re interested please put “Galaxy” in the subject line and shoot me a note at Christopher_Stipp@Yahoo.com.

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HARPER’S ISLAND: AMBER BORYCKI

Sometimes it’s just good to sit on something.

I waited to release this interview with Amber Borycki of CBS’ Harper’s Island, now showing every Thursday night (and watch the show’s premiere online if you’ve missed it), as I’ve done this before. I’ve talked to a show’s talent and released the thing weeks before the show has even aired. Most of the time it’s a safe bet but if you’ve never heard of a program or watched it there is an inherent problem at times in making it meaningful to someone who hasn’t seen it.

With Harper’s Island, though, I hedged a bet that it was going to well in order to have a little more than a passing interest in the following interview. But the bet wasn’t that risky in my own estimation. You had an excellent time slot that was poised to help this little show that could, you had a cast full of unknowns that only increases the tension for a murder mystery program in that you can’t cherry pick who is going to make it to the end but, most of all, and what impresses me, is that this show has a finite lifespan. I am just as a fan of Lost’s twisted and arching story lines but there is something fascinating in a program’s development that says to itself, “There will be someone dead at the beginning and there will be a resolution of it all by the end of 13 episodes.” If all goes well, there could be a different set-up for each batch of shows. Yes, it’s gimmicky in a way. However, where the rubber meets the proverbial road is whether the story and writing can sustain itself for these episodes; you could have any number of wacky premises but if each one was written well enough I could care less about how nutty the idea is.

As it stands, and why I feel vindicated if only for a week, the debut of Harper’s Island last Thursday ranked first in viewers for its time slot (10.5 million) behind only stalwarts CSI and Survivor. Take it as you will in this fickle viewing pool of television viewers but I’ll strike while the iron is hot and introduce you to Amber Borycki, an actress who had her film debut in a breakout performance in 1984’s RUNAWAY by Michael Crichton starring Tom Selleck , Kirstie Alley and Gene Simmons of Kiss only to disappear for almost 20 years.

Read on to find out why…

HARPER’S ISLAND is on Thursday nights at 10 ET/PT

CHRISTOPHER STIPP: Tell me, what is it about this show ““ it’s one of those shows that has been shrouded in mystery with only a vague idea of what it’s about. What can you tell me?

AMBER BORYCKI: Let’s see. There’s a lot I can’t tell you about the show. We are sworn to secrecy to our death actually. Do you want the premise of the show?

CS: Briefly. Lay it out for me.

BORYCKI: It is a one hour drama. They are calling it a horror-inspired drama or a 13 episode mystery event. Basically it’s about a group of friends and family and they travel to an island to celebrate a wedding and for Abby Mills who is the lead character played by Elaine Cassidy this is the first time she’s gone back to Harper’s Island since her mother was murdered there 7 years ago.

I guess at the beginning spirits are really high and it’s all a big party but as the show progresses people are gripped by fear and are murdered one by one and everybody is a suspect. By the end of 13 episodes, the murdered will be revealed.

CS: And this is one of the interesting things I found out about the show is that they are planning on spinning this into ““ if this season goes well, next season will be a completely different cast with a completely focus.

BORYCKI: Yeah, they have to. There’s nobody left.

(Laughs)

CS: But, yeah, they are planning on making this more than just a one time thing.

BORYCKI: Yes, that is the one thing we are allowed to say is that they are promoting it as everybody is going to go, one by one people are going to be picked off and by the end you will sort of find out who it is. I mean, pretty much everybody.

CS: This seem right for a couple reasons. Why I like this is that they know there is a finite, definite end to the series. Can you shed some light about what they had in mind? You can see how this could have been stretched into 3, 4 or 5 seasons. Why did they want to shoot it all in one season and get it done with?

BORYCKI: I think it’s just because it’s a new idea. The reason they are doing just 13 episodes is because they are calling this a mystery event. They are promoting it as kind of a mini-series. So, that way you are guaranteed, I think by July 13^th, you are going to know who it is. That way, people who are watching the show ““ they have this anticipation every time. They know they are going to find something out.

I think that’s the difference between a series like Lost. You don’t know when you’re going to find out the end. This way, you know the exact day you are going to get that reward for watching the series. It’s really like a horror movie stretched out over 13 episodes on TV. Like a really long horror movie ““ which is pretty cool.

CS: Are they shooting this cinema-style or doing it kind of vÃ©ritÃ© like a documentary?

BORYCKI: It’s actually done cinema-style. Like any other one hour drama. There is no hand held camera. It’s great, shiny and colorful. That’s one cool thing about the show is that it starts off in the beginning in the summer and it’s the wedding, it’s the parties, the heels, bright colors and sun but as the show progresses, the whole tone starts to change when people start getting killed and obviously if your friend or family member gets murdered you are not going to be putting on your heels and dresses anymore. Dressing in darker colors and jeans and the whole tone starts to change. A very cool visual effect ““ the palate changes as well.

CS: Is that what brought you into this? Was it the premise that sold you, did someone have you in mind or is this one of those things you basically go in for and audition and see if you get it?

BORYCKI: I auditioned, yeah. I auditioned for a show here in Vancouver, Canada where the show is filmed and I actually only auditioned a week before the show went to camera. They were still doing casting and it all happened super fast. I went in and Jon Turtletaub, our executive producer, Dan and Karim were there in the room and, right away, I knew walking in that I wanted to be a part of the show because of the energy in the room. They were warm, inviting and such great guys and were excited and it was a cool experience auditioning because they were so welcoming. I left saying I really wanted to work with these guys because they were so great. So, I’m really happy to be a part of it.

CS: Speaking about Jon, I read some interviews with him. He’s an interesting guy to get on-board with something like this. Serial television isn’t something he gets a whole lot of involved in.

BORYCKI: True. National Treasure fame and all.

CS: Exactly. Can you share what brought him to do this thing? He said he was going to do National Treasure III.

BORYCKI: That maybe a question you would have to ask him. I don’t really know exactly how he got involved in the first place. I just know that it was a collaboration of people that really wanted to try something new. Something that has never been done this way before. Yeah, it was kind of different. We were all really excited to work with him. Him coming into a TV series. He directed the pilot as well, which was great because we all got to hang out. To have him there with his film background and history really just worked for the show because it feels like a movie on TV. Like a 13 part movie. But in terms of how he got involved initially, I’m not sure.

CS: Let me ask you a little bit about yourself. From 1984 until about 2003 you were basically absent from major productions but were doing a lot of theater. What brought you back in?

BORYCKI: You must have looked at my resume!

(Laughs)

CS: Yes, I did….

BORYCKI: The Runaway is on there and it makes me laugh because I did movie when I was a year old. It starred Tom Selleck and he actually rescued me from killer robots. It’s hilarious. Now we have all these cool I-Robot type movies and in this movie it looks like shoe boxes with guns sticking out.

(Laughs)

It’s all kind of funny. I’m in my crib and he comes in and rescues me. Magnum-style. I guess it was my parents. My dad is a writer and producer but I never did any child acting. I guess in high school started doing theater and musicals and came to acting that way and didn’t start doing TV and films until I was about 19. They left it up to me to find my own interest and it just sort of came back into my life and I realized that it was what I loved to do more than anything. That explain the “senior” hiatus?

(Laughs)

I took a little break. The Runaway took it all out of me!

CS: Did the writers know ““ obviously one of the things about Lost ““ some of the guys didn’t really know where it was going to go when they got started, we just had the idea.

BORYCKI: We asked them and yes, they knew. That was really funny because we would try to get it out of them all the time. There were people claiming that they were going to have mental breakdowns. I remember going out for dinner and one of our cast members was like, “Look, if you don’t tell me this… I can’t handle it anymore. I don’t know if I’m going to die. I don’t know if I’m the killer. I need to know this. I’m going nuts.” But it was like a game all the time. They did a really good job because nobody knew anything until the end. Top secret.

CS: Well, what about for you? What’s on the horizon? What are you looking forward to?

BORYCKI: I’m super excited right now because the show comes out in about a month and we have our billboards up, which is really cool. I’m in Vancouver right now but I’m heading down to LA tomorrow, actually, and the picture of our billboard has been circulating around and we’re sending it like on Facebook and emails. I love the websites where people are starting to talk about it. So, at this point I’m just super excited about the show and I’m going to head down to LA and be there for the pilot episode and we’re all going to get together and watch it. That’s the focus right now. I’m still auditioning for other things and thinking about what’s coming next but at this point, the focus is pretty much on that. There is some pretty cool press stuff coming up. They are doing a lot of extra stuff that goes along with the show. There’s the Harper’s Globe which is a website that CBS is doing which is kind of like a story of a girl, a local to Harper’s Island who writes for the paper and keeps a blog on what’s happening. Sort of an off-shoot of Harper’s Island. Things like that. Pretty cool stuff to watch out for.

CS: That’s the frustrating thing about doing an interview like this because you can’t say a whole lot.

BORYCKI: I know. I’m trying to be really careful. We had to sign our lives away to not say anything and it’s so hard. Even my best friends and family are asking me questions. My accountant the other day was asking. But I couldn’t say anything. I can only say what I can say. I don’t want to slip up.

April 13, 2009
Trailer Park: The /Filmcast and KILLER AT LARGE

By Christopher Stipp

The Archives, Right Here

I’m awesome. I wrote a book. It’s got little to do with movies. Download and read “Thank You, Goodnight” right HERE for free.

And now, you can follow me on Twitter. Find me here, This week saw a burst of activity with regard to Comic-Con lodging and how dismal the Comic-Con hotel ordering system really is. Hopefully you’re one of those ones who got through. Myself, I’m staying at a hostel/hotel hybrid. Should be interesting if nothing else…

For those who may not of found out about it one way or another, the esteemed human checkbook known around these parts as Kevin Smith was on the /Filmcast last week. Even if you are all burnt out on WATCHMEN you really do have to listen to this marathon podcast. David Chen, Peter Sciretta, Devindra Hardawar and Adam Quigley all do a great job with this show and it’s one of those things I like seeing drop into my iPod queue in any given week. This week was no exception but it really is fascinating to get a filmmaker’s perspective on things and it helped me to couch my own interpretation of the minutiae contained in this as well as delving into some of the particulars of the movie. Think of this as the perfect thing to listen to as you reconcile what you thought this could be versus what it actually was.

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Secondly, I always like to promote those who were more than complimentary when I had the chance to interview them. Christian Oliver talked with me last for the hotly debated topic of “Is it good?”/”Is it crap?” for his turn in SPEED RACER so when I heard he had a new film coming out I just felt it polite to return the nicety.

The film is called READY OR NOT and the film is described as follows:

Four college buddies find themselves on the adventure of their lives, when on the morning after a Las Vegas bachelor party, they end up stranded deep in Mexico penniless, being chased, falling in love, and fighting to make it back across the border in time for the wedding.

I can’t vouch for how mind-blowing it is but the man was genuinely nice and so it’s always a pleasure to simply be a human being and give a shout-out.

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Ribwich.

I loved eating ribwiches in high school. Along with a side order of sizzling fries, splayed out on a foam tray, chugging it all back with with a Barq’s root beer it was my version of a good lunch. I can’t tell you how vividly I remember the class I had after lunch, it was health, and consisently thinking about how sluggish and foul I felt after consuming these types of lunches day in and day out.

It wasn’t until Freshman year in college when I knew I was headed for Portly Town, getting winded just by doing warm-up calisthenics, and did something about it. I picked up a book by Covert Bailey, called “Fit or Fat”, and made life altering choices that have been with me now for over 15 years. I don’t consider myself freakish about it but I do try and always make sensible choices (although get me around a pepperoni and bacon pizza and watch the glutton in me leap out) and have kept an eye on the news reports regarding obesity in America and whether we really are becoming the fattest country in the world.

When I head about Steven Greenstreet’s documentary about the health and social issues facing our nation today with regard to our waistlines I couldn’t pass up the chance to talk to someone who might give me the inside line about how the battle of the bulge is going. From what he tell me, there isn’t really much to be proud of and a whole lot to be alarmed by.

KILLER AT LARGE hits DVD on March 31st..

CHRISTOPHER STIPP: How did this project come about?

STEVEN GREENSTREET: It started about ten years ago. We met up with a doctor who specializes in obesity and he contacted us. He had seen our last film and said he had some new research on obesity and asked if we could make a short film for him. So we said sure and then got into some of the research and said holy crap this is an epic film. We just touched the tip of the iceberg. There was tons of stuff that needed to be covered. So we went back to him and said why don’t we re-establish the budget and make this a feature film and he got on board. That’s how it got started.

CS: What kind of stories were you unearthing?

GREENSTREET: One of the stories we read was how the It’s a Small World ride at Disneyland was shut down and had to be renovated because it was designed back in the 60’s when people were thinner and now people are so heavy that they were actually drowning the ride. They had to renovate it because of people’s weight. Locally, there was a huge theater that had to renovate its seats because the theater was built in the 70’s and people are just getting too big.

And then, we got a hold of a video clip, and it took us forever to get a hold of this by the way, but the Surgeon General of the United States was giving a speech at the University of South Carolina where he literally says that obesity will dwarf 9/11 or any terrorist event you can play out to me. And we’re like, “Holy crap…” You can’t do a film about obesity without taking time. We realized it was a big problem. The problem with obesity is that it’s a complex problem and you just can’t point your finger at any one thing. You can’t say McDonald’s is the bad guy or junk food is the bad guy or the lobbyist in Washington is the bad guy. We used the statistics for global warming ““ obesity is leading to global warming in that we used 39 million extra gallons of fuel each year simply because we weigh more and that’s since the 1970’s.

CS: Really?

GREENSTREET: Yeah, 39 million extra gallons of fuel and it works in reverse. If every American just lost one pound we would save 39 million gallons of fuel.

CS: What seemed to be the turning point in people’s knowledge that this is an issue? If we look back at the 20th century it wasn’t really an issue. What has happened that we are so attuned now to healthy eating ?

GREENSTREET: Well, we actually went back further. We went back 4 million years to the dawn of man and interviewed some anthropologists about evolution ““ back in Cro-Magnon days ““ how our brains were wired – we used to be hunters and gatherers running around the plain hunting our food. And for the most part we didn’t eat meat or high calorie foods because it was so hard to get so we were eating fruits, eating brush, eating things like that.

Every once in a while we would get a deer or an antelope or something like that and then we really had to run for dinner, essentially What has really happened in evolution is that we don’t have to run for our dinner any more. Nowadays, with technology and the luxuries that we have, we sit a lot and there is no movement being done. In fact with children in the No Child Left Behind Act which is one of the Bush administration’s significance to education it has upped the requirements for reading and arithmetic ““ schools are actually cutting out physical education. So kids are sitting on their rumps all day in school and then all night at home. So we actually interviewed teachers and superintendents about the effects of No Child Left Behind and literally we have a shot of this huge elementary school gymnasium that’s been converted into four classrooms. They don’t even use the gym anymore.

CS: Lazy kids…

GREENSTREET: So they could meet the requirements of the government. We interviewed experts about our toxic environment. Everywhere you go there are cues to make you eat. Car washes, the DMV, there is vending machines. I just edited into the film there’s a locally tire store called Swab Tires and they give away free beef. Come fix your tires and they give you slabs of beef. Back in the 60’s you go to a gas station and you just got gas. Now you get cookies, chips, soda. And vending machines at schools are totally off the charts. We interviewed kids that that’s all they eat for lunch. They put $5 in a vending machine. There is a school that is so under funded by the government that Pepsico moved in and said, “We will give you $50,000 ““ just sign this contract with us.”

School lunches are nothing but surplus.

If there is a surplus of butter, they put a lot of butter in the lunch, if there is a surplus of ground beef, they are going to eat a lot of hamburger. Here’s an interesting statistic ““ we spent more money feeding prisoners in the state of California than we do on school lunch on a national level. Per child.

CS: I haven’t seen the movie but I go back to the trailer with the Surgeon General ““ how does the government factor into this problem? Are they aware of it or are they complicit in it or, like you said, you had a hard time trying to track down some information. How do they factor into this issue?

GREENSTREET: You have to understand that by and large, money talks, money walks and in Washington, DC is bought and sold everyday and they are absolutely complicit. Let’s start with the Surgeon General ““ Dr. Vinichiy is supposed to inform the public about health crisis, health problems and stuff like that. While he was in office for the Bush administration, he wrote a document about the dangers of obesity. That document was not allowed to reach the public eye by the Bush administration. In turn it was given to a Bush insider, Wm. Steiger, George Bush Sr.’s godson, who edited it and any mention to eat less sugar, eat less, he edited that all out before it became public. And we got a hold of the before and after document (before it was edited).

CS: That’s fascinating…

GREENSTREET: Yeah, it was actually a very big news story. And then Carmona, before he left office he did a tell all and went on all the news stations and said that during his tenure with the Bush administration he was muzzled and was told to shut up on so many issues and obesity was one of them. Because big sugar lobbies, meat lobbies, etc., they buy and fund congressional and presidential elections and they didn’t want to tick their people off so they didn’t want anything in the document that says eat less sugar, eat less of this, any mention of eating less, because once you tell people to less of something you can tell them what to eat less of.

One of the most infuriating and yet fascinatingly funny aspects of our film is about a year and a half ago, when Shrek III was coming out the government got together with DreamWorks Animation who was releasing the film and they released a PSA with this huge glutinous ogre on TV saying get up and play an hour a day get out and exercise at the same time his face was on the front of over 70 junk food products. Like from cereals to candies to Fruit Roll-Ups to soda and the government knew it. Even on Twinkies, with green filling it was absolutely disgusting and Shrek gets out there and it was free publicity for DreamWorks and the government, Secretary of Health claimed it was a huge victory for government. We’re going to get our kids to get up and play. Another thing is the food pyramid. The government threw away the old one at this big press conference and replaced it with no food just colored bars and completely confusing and no one knows what it means in fact if you go to the my pyramid website and put in your weight your age and sex they will tell you what to eat ““ what your diet should be. And no matter what age, sex or weight you are it will tell you to drink 3 cups of milk per day. That’s the dairy lobby. Buy our milk whether you are two years old or 86 and 300 lbs. Drink 3 glasses of milk a day. Here’s another thing: The USDA over 75% of the officials at the USDA are former food lobbyists ““ meat lobbyists, dairy lobbyists. So basically if you go to the upper echelon at the USDA for agriculture, people are actually on leave from their corporate jobs. And now USDA is regulating the rule about food. Basically a revolving door with corporate America.

CS: How does this stack up against other countries? Are Americans genuinely the fattest people on earth?

GREENSTREET: Yes. Statistically we are. Granted per capita countries such as Tonga and some Polynesian countries are more overweight but as a leading country the United States is the fattest in the world. But obesity is not just an American thing. Strangely it is popping up in Ethiopia. Obesity is being seen in places we haven’t seen before…

CS: Didn’t we send money over there in 1984 for We Are The World to help feed them?

GREENSTREET: Yes, exactly. The experts across the board says one of the reasons contributing to world-wide obesity is the importing of American food. American fast food culture ““ Japan, Europe, parts of South America. Here is something else that is infuriating is for some reason and it didn’t used to be this way, the poorest people in America, the people with the littlest money are the fattest. How did that come to be? You would think that if you were poor you wouldn’t have that much money for that much food to be glutinous. We set up our system that the foods with the most calories are the cheapest and the ones with the littlest calories are the most expensive. You take a $1 in the grocery store and can get 1200 calories for your dollar in the snack food, candy or soda aisle but you can get 200 calories of carrots for your dollar.

CS: Why is that? It infuriates me because I try to eat healthy ““ I’m thin by comparison to a lot of people and it costs so much for me to make right choices and have salads but for half the price I could go to McDonald’s and have a huge bad-for-me meal. Anything you found out about why the inverse is the case?

GREENSTREET: Yes, in the film we do a history lesson. Back in the 70’s the Nixon Department of Agriculture Secretary Earl Butts decided that farming will not be a mom and pop type of business but should be more of a corporate conglomerate and he told the farmers plant as much as you can of corn of soy and we’re going to put you in a world market. What’s happened is that we have created a surplus of corn and soy, an over abundance of it and hence it’s become extremely cheap. Corn is put in more than 75% of things you buy at the grocery store. That McDonald’s meal that you buy, it’s in the bun, it’s in the burger because it’s a corn-fed cow, it’s in the ketchup, it’s in the mustard, it’s in the French fries, in corn starch in the chicken nuggets and in the high-fructose corn syrup in the soda.

So, one reason that fast food is so cheap is because they are using cheap surplussed corn. That’s one of the reasons that junk foods, all that stuff is so cheap. All that stuff has corn in it. Candy has corn in it. That’s one of the reasons we are growing so fast because as a species we are supposed to be eating 50 – 70 ingredients for nutrients for our bodies and now we are mainly eating 3 ““ 5. Corn and soy are the main products of that. The agriculture policy in this country is one of the reasons that cheap high calorie food is the way that it is. Because of the surplus. Corn production has sky rocketed and even now the corn production has increased every year ““ even though we don’t need it.

CS: Where does it go? Does it go into everything and anything they can stick it in?

GREENSTREET: Exactly. The film shows how so many ways the corn plant can break down the corn plants you can make starches and sugars out of it and you can process so many foods. Another very interesting statistic is that 40 or 50 years ago if you trace back the food’s energy source you’d go to the sun. it brings us to the cow that eats the grass and you eat the grass and the cow got it’s energy from the sun. Now”¦.you have to go back to the Persian Gulf. Because what’s happening because cows and livestock are not eating grass they are being fed fossil fuel derived corn. The follicle fuel comes from the gulf. Essentially we are sipping oil. That McDonald’s meal’s energy source you’d have to go back to the Middle East.

CS: Hmm…

GREENSTREET: Another thing, if you took a strand of hair and put it under a microscope, you would find corn in your DNA.

CS: Really?

GREENSTREET: Americans. For the most part if you are an American and eating an American diet, there is corn in your DNA.

CS: Is it because we are eating so much of it, it is becoming a part of who we are?

GREENSTREET: Literally the children of the corn!

CS: What do you do now that you’ve spent time on it, what is your perception on how obesity has evolved?

GREENSTREET: First and foremost, I had no idea how complex and deep rooted this problem was but at the same time when the film was over it makes sense to me that things are the way they are. One of the anthropologists we interviewed who has been studying the evolution of man for decades he says that I think that humanity is heading for an evolutionary disaster because we set up this system that goes against our biological makeup. We are eating foods that we are not supposed to be eating and too much of it. We are creating a world of luxury and convenience and we are not “hunters and gatherers” anymore. And it is really sucking up our biology. And we are not keeping up with it. When you look at it from outside the box it makes sense that things are the way they are.

CS: Why don’t enough people care? Some people who are overweight are just sort of resigned to it. Some people care, some people take action, but we are not getting any thinner.

GREENSTREET: it’s complicated for sure and personal responsibility plays a big part for sure. A lot of people when they see a fat person would say if you wanted to lose weight you probably could. But there a lot of different factors, it’s one thing to tell a parent, tell kids, like Shrek says, gets up and play an hour a day but to say we’re going to take phys-ed out of school and convert the gym to a classroom. Adults – we’re going to put you in a cubical and you crunch some numbers and you can do your work but then you go home and see your kids. When are you going to exercise? We have a solution section in our film – $72 billion dollars a year is spent on health insurance obesity related illnesses. It’s really a threat to our health system to our insurance system and employers are beginning to wake up.

For instance, Sprint at their headquarters, they totally renovated their headquarters. They slowed down their elevators and updated their stair cases with beautiful vistas, sky lights and put signs on the staircases saying that if you walk this many stairs you will burn this many calories and in turn paying employees for every pound they lose. IBM, Astra Zeneca ““ there are companies around the nation that are realizing they are losing money. We gotta care about the health of our employees or we are going to lose money. And so they are actually taking steps during the day ““ we are giving you a half hour during the day to go exercise in the company gym and if you do that we will take $400 off your health insurance. So companies are starting to do that. And there is a lot of different things to do but I think the right people to help out are doing the wrong things, i.e., the government, the school system, companies themselves marketing to kids is astronomically off the charts.

CS: Talk to me about that. I have a 4 year old and a 2 year old at home and we hardly keep the TV on and thank goodness for TiVo because we can blast through the commercials but when I do have to sit down and see these commercials I can’t imagine that the amount of money that is used to spend on kids has gone down in years, the opposite must be true. They must be doing hardcore marketing to get that younger demographic.

GREENSTREET: Yes. $100 million is spent just on candy – marketing candy.

And if you want a comparison, $10 million is spent to market breath mints and $1 million used to market fruits and vegetables in this nation. The statistics show that companies want cradle to grave loyalty from kids. They want to get them out of the cradle essentially. They have 7 Up and Pepsi bottle bottles ““ they look like a 7 Up bottle or Pepsi bottle. McDonald’s had a billboard that’s in our film a billboard that had a baby breastfeeding on a McDonald’s burger. And kids under the age of 8 cannot differentiate the difference between the commercial and the program so when Sponge Bob cuts to commercial, they don’t know it’s a commercial. They don’t know they are trying to be sold something. And they have a thing called the Nag Factor. Ralph Nader’s film actually says it in there that Madison Avenue when a new ad campaign comes out they actually rate it. This has a 50% Nag Factor, this has an 80% Nag Factor ““ getting kids to nag their parents.

We have a Chuck E. Cheese commercial where the kids are having fun and then mom shows up and they say “Oh mom, why did you have to come?” And then she actually pulls her face off and it’s really Chuck E. Cheese and they say now we can have fun again. And there’s a McDonald’s commercial where they kids are doing homework and it’s raining and grey outside and classical music is playing and they are all bored but then Ronald McDonald shows up and the lights get all bright and he wisks them off to McDonalds and they start eating cheeseburgers and are happy. So they are getting the message that classical music is bad, being at home is bad, so they are getting these kids to nag their parents for what they are told is fun. So it’s really unfair and undermines parental authority. As a parent you have to choose your battles. Which battle are you going to pick if your 8 year old is dressing like a hooker? It’ll be the sexuality battle. So there is some movement, Senator Tom Harkin wants to eliminate marketing to kids under 8 but nothing of any significance.

CS: Demographically speaking, is it easier to get the individuals in the lower economic strata that a middle class child or adult?

GREENSTREET: Statistics show that kids or adults in poor communities are the fattest and most obese. They have a variety of problems but also if you go to poor communities some of these people don’t have cars. And where’s the closest place I can get fresh produce. It’s probably not a block away but there is a McDonald’s a block away, there’s a McDonald’s on every block or there’s a Wendy’s on every block. Or there’s a 7 Eleven where you can get a Grandma’s cookie. So the incentives in this country to feed our kids right are totally out of whack. There are no ““ the government is doing nothing to create incentives. You have to look at this evolutionarily ““ we’re screwing ourselves up and doing nothing to put the brakes on. Except in little sections of the nation people are starting to wake up.

CS: What are people saying after you show them this finished film?

GREENSTREET: 100% of the people are completely pissed off and say, “We had no idea.” People will email us and say “we have stopped drinking cola because of the corn” and it’s really getting people to wake up and be aware and how it’s all hurting our biology. The fat tax in Mississippi is not a solution.

Poor people are relying on that 99 cent cheeseburger.

We are just screwing the poor even more making it more expensive. I don’t think the idea is to ban McDonald’s or ban junk food but to show them something better and create incentives to get that. There is actually something going on today called upchuck rebellion. The next generation is refusing to eat crappy foods and is more focused on eating healthy and becoming more educated about their bodies and learning more about cooking. I certainly don’t agree with Morgan Spurlock or people like that that say McDonald’s is the bad guy ““ we just have to get rid of that and we’ll be fine.

CS: Right. And, regarding the process of making a documentary, what are your thoughts about the medium itself? Did you ever think…”Maybe I’m getting too preachy here?” How did you keep that in check in the editing room?

GREENSTREET: My first film, my first documentary I didn’t want it to be too preachy and I didn’t want it to be too biased. I didn’t want it to be like a war film. This is how it is. This is how it should be. This film is not narrated. It’s observational, it’s educational. And I’ve seen this film so many times and there is one part in the film right now that I’m struggling with because I think it comes across too vegan like propaganda. I’m a vegan but I eat meat.

(I laugh)

GREENSTREET: What’s that?

CS: Nothing. I’m just laughing that you say you’re a vegan but that you are a meat eater.

GREENSTREET: Yep, I can say that filmmakers probably have the worst diets ever. We put all our money into the film so we grab the fast food break between editing. But I don’t want the film to be one sided. We covered all aspects as best we could. It still could have been a 10 hour epic. But we tried to cover as many aspects as we could and stay in the middle if we could.

CS: When you did your first cut, what did you have to do to pare it back or did you have any babies you had to leave on the cutting room floor?

GREENSTREET: Our first cut was 3 hours long. Way too long. So anything that doesn’t 100% address obesity we had to cut. Like the 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon ““ things on the sidelines we had to cut out of the film. We had stuff about fertilizer ““ why does the orange look so orange? Why does the tomato look so red? So that it looks good on a shelf so you buy it but we trimmed all that and now it’s down to an hour and a half ““ literally cut it in half.

CS: Now that you finished it, and have shown the final version to people that could be in the position to buy it, what has it taught you about the final stages of movie making and how to market and to see you film and get people interested in seeing your film?

GREENSTREET: We have a good PR person and Oprah showed a clip last January 4^th so we are out there. We’ve been in some newspapers and we’ve been interviewed but once our film gets sold it’s going to be full throttle. Calling on people to find out what their plan is to address the issues in the film. The activists are in the thousands that are involved in this issue. We’ll be calling on all of them to get the word out to call on their local leaders to see the film, and address the issues about what can be done. We have solutions in the film to see what others have done to solve the problem so it’s really grass roots stuff.

CS: Did any candidate that is out there now that is in a position to vote on something is there anyone out there that has a so-called food policy?

GREENSTREET: Bill Clinton is in the film. He had to undergo heart surgery and talked about how fast food and our kids are walking time bombs. He says that this may be the first generation that has a shorter life span than their parents because of obesity. So Clinton, for the last 7 or 8 years, along with Hillary, have been advocates very publicly. I know Mike Huckabee battled obesity and lost over 100 pounds so he’s an advocate for obesity problems. I haven’t heard anything besides general health care statements from Obama or any other candidates about the issue. But I would say if there was one politician nationwide tackled it like a lion is Senator Tom Harkin in Iowa. He’s all over it. He’s been changing eating vending in the schools, he’s updating nutrition policy at the USDA. He’s been a bull fighting this.

CS: What does he say about the lobbyists and the opposition?

GREENSTREET: He’s in the corn state so he’s fighting the junk food but fighting it the right way. He brings the story of children and he puts them up there on the Senate floor and how can you argue that. He did lose the 2007 farm bill for the USDA to update their school nutrition policy and it got completely shut down. Because the Republicans said it was too hard on the food industry. So there are wins and losses across the field.

CS: Well, Steve I have just one more question for you. When this film finally makes it to the public what would you classify a win in your mind?

GREENSTREET: A win?

CS: What would you hopes happens?

GREENSTREET: I think the best case scenario for me would be that people come away from the film knowing that this is a battle that we fight three times a day. It is the most democratic of wars. And the life blood of a democracy is our ability to be informed to make a change. I don’t want to shove anything down anyone’s throat or force a change but I want people to take a second look at the battle they are fighting with their food, their government, school, employers and take a second look. And think, if I just do one thing, if I put a gym in my work, put physical education back in our schools. I’m going to my kids school tomorrow and I’m going to see what my kids are eating. Getting people upset and getting them educated. I have no expectations for a final solution but a win would be for people to stand up and ask some questions.

March 20, 2009
Party Favors: Wallace Shawn Interview

RICHMOND – Pass up a chance to talk with Wallace Shawn? Inconceivable!!!

Shawn has appeared in more than 125 movies and TV shows over the last 30 years. He was the face of Indie cinema in the early ’80s with My Dinner with Andre. Teenage girls knows him from The Princess Bride. Children recognize him from various Pixar films. Even geeks have experienced him from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He’s everywhere. Ultimately Shawn is a playwright who acts. Our phone call was in celebration of the release of Marie and Bruce on DVD from Genius Products/The Weinstein Company. He wrote the original play.

Marie and Bruce are a married couple that are hitting a nasty rough spot. Julianne Moore and Matthew Broderick are well cast as the pair that are having major communication issues. Most of this crisis comes from their ability to avoid talk to each other yet they say so much. She’s ready for a divorce. He hasn’t a clue. I ponder if these Manhattanites were guinea pigs for MDMA (ecstasy) tests. The scene of Julianne Moore on the sofa at a party looks like she’s rolling hard.

“Of course they’re drinking a lot. Some people have interpreted it as being about drinkers,” Shawn said. “You may be the first to interpret it about people taking a lot of drugs. I don’t really like to tell people how to interpret what I write. In my head if you want to know, that doesn’t matter. I don’t think writers are the biggest experts of what they write.

“If I were even going to venture a comment…people live a great deal inside their own head where fantasy and reality crash into each other. These two are very involved in fantasy. The party is seen through Marie’s eyes. She’s not seeing it the way you would see it. She’s seeing it through her emotional state. In her mind this is a very important day. The party is the very last moment before she’s making this important announcement to Bruce that she’s going to be leaving him. I think she lives in her imagination anyway. Somebody could speculate that neither of these two have found an appropriate outlet for their talents and their intelligence. It’s filtering into their fantasy life too active.”

Had Moore and Broderick performed the play before the filming?

“No,” Shawn said. “But Julianne had read it when she was 18.”

She seems so natural as Marie. Has she become a reverse muse for the role?

“I feel we haven an unspoken shared taste in many ways,” Shawn said. “An unspoken shared feeling about many things. There is some kind of natural compatibility.”

It is hard to imagine any other actress being able to own these lines. Her attitude accents the frustrated and spacey observations.

“It takes unbelievable technique and inspiration to make this unnatural dialogue seem natural. Particularly in the film it must. Film is in general a very realistic medium. Here you have a film in which the chairs and tables are realistic so the dialogue, even though it is not at all realistic, has to somehow seem realistic and believable. That is the wonderful skill that both Julianne and Matthew bring to it. (Some people) can’t cope with the dialogue and they say, ‘This is not like life.’ Actually, the dialogue in most movies is not anything like life. There are certain movie cliches about life that most movies imitate. This one is some other category.”

Shawn is only listed for writing the play and co-writing the screenplay with director Tom Cairns. But he didn’t merely type the words and let everyone else make the movie.

“I was extremely involved in the production. I missed some days of filming, but I was a there for a lot of them. I was totally involved in getting it together before filming. I picked Tom (Cairns). Tom and I have collaborated on many things and have had a wonderful working relationship..”

He could have easily had his name pop up in various parts of the credits. He didn’t even want to give himself a minor role. “I did make a deliberate decision,” Shawn said. “I wanted to be treated as the writer on this project. It would be an in-joke if I’d appeared in the party playing one of the characters. For those who know that I was the writer, it becomes a distraction. For that moment your focus will be in the wrong place.”

Two famous faces that do pop up in the film are Bob Balaban (Seinfeld) and Griffin Dunne (After Hours). Both actors have a history with the work. “They were both in the original production of the play,” Shawn said. “Griffin was the character at the party and Bob Balaban played Bruce.” Now the table has turned for Bob since he plays Roger, Bruce’s friend who knows way too much about public sewage projects. Turns nobody played Roger in the original production.

“That scene didn’t exist in the play. In the play, he says he’s going to meet Roger. She says, “The world’s most fascinating person.” But we never see Roger.”

Was it interesting to revisit the play to create these inbetween scenes? “It was fun. In the play these are long monologues about their respective day between breakfast and dinner. They are alone and both involved in their imagination. It was fun to film those days.”

What makes Marie and Bruce entertaining is that they aren’t a completely dysfunctional couple that arrives on Jerry Springer’s stage. There’s hope.

“There’s potential there that hasn’t been unlocked between them,” Shawn analyzed. “Not sure that if I was a marriage counselor that I’d say, ‘You should get divorced as quickly as possible.’ Freud said people need love and work. These are two people who have not found meaningful work that is important to them. I think that could be very important in them discussing their problems.”

At this point, our conversation turns to his work. Shawn is an extremely busy man. This TV season he’s appeared on Life on Mars, ER, L Word and Gossip Girl. I have to ask about his time on L Word as the wealthy backer of Jenny Schecter’s movie. What is it like to be the focus of Mia Kirshner’s goddess-like eyes?

“She’s an extraordinary person,” Shawn praised. “The French refer to someone’s gaze as ‘regard.’ Hers is very unblinking. Strangely unblinking.”

He sounded kinda disappointed that he was not suspected of killing Jenny. Or that his on-screen relationship with the character was chaste. “There was a clear indication in the scripts that he was in love with her. He hoped for a deeper attachment.”

I bring up the topic of what it’s like to be an in demand character actor in Hollywood. Shawn puts me straight.

“In life we’re all leading men and women,” Shawn declared. “We don’t see ourselves as character actors in life. I don’t think too many actors see themselves as character actors. That’s more something that other people would put on you because they have certain cliched ideas about life. Certainly it’s a phrase that I don’t know anybody has applied to himself. God knows I’ve never said I’m a character actor.

“A character actor is not the main actor. The phrase implies a certain view of life in which there are tall, thin people who are the real people. They are surrounded by a rogues gallery of bizarre people: fat, short, bald. Those people make life interesting for the real people. I don’t see life that way. I don’t see myself that way. In the real world, I don’t occupy a position of being just an amusing sidekick to a guy that lives on the floor below me who happens to be tall. When we meet in the hall, we meet as equals.”

At that moment, I’m stuck with the strange feeling that we’re having this phone conversation as part of a rehearsal for Synecdoche, New York. The image of Shawn meeting the tall man immediately brings up his role of Vizzini in The Princess Bride. What was it like to work with Andre The Giant, the late wrestling legend?

“He was fascinating,” Shawn praised. “I found it quite wonderful to meet him and know him. He was a very talented man who had figured out a way to live the life that he wanted to live despite having an absolutely incredible disability.

“It’s totally remarkable that somebody could walk onto a set and be able to act. That’s very, very rare. I think he’d only been in one movie before that and he had no lines. He was remarkable. He did have incredible ability of hitting his mark. You’re supposed to not just talk but go to right place at the right time. You have little marks on the floor to show where you’re supposed to go. Because the marks are on the floor, you’re not supposed be looking at them. They’re quite hard to follow. I find it quite hard to say dialogue and move and go to the right place at the same time. Particularly to remember that you’re supposed to go over here and then somewhere else and somewhere else. It’s very difficult. He did that effortlessly. He’d do it right on the first take. The rest of us would take several tries to hit it right.”

Currently Shawn’s in rehearsals for a play with Miranda Richardson and Jennifer Tilly that’s taking place in London this May. Directing him will be his longtime pal Andre Gregory. The duo took the cinema by storm with My Dinner with Andre. The movie was about them having dinner. There was no explosions or gunplay. Just conversation between two people. It became an art house sensation.

Shawn has never been approached to host a series of interviews over dinner like IFC’s Dinner for Five. He’s had people begging him to recreate the role, but for the wrong reasons. “I’ve steered clear of a few parodies,” he said.

The good news about the movie is that it is finally coming back to DVD (and hopefully Blu-ray) with a high quality image transfer. “Criterion is bringing it out in the next few months. The results are great.” Shawn and Gregory have been interviewed for the bonus features.

What is the secret of Shawn and Gregory remaining pals and creative partners?

“We’ve been working together since 1970,” Shawn said. “We really do have a congruence of tastes. It’s rare to meet someone who is in your field who understands you and you understand them. You’re motivated to stick with that person and make that relationship work. You’re not going to run into anyone like that for the rest of your life. We don’t do exactly the same thing. I write and act. He directors. He can bring things out of me as an actor that are pretty surprising.”

We talk about a few of the major directors he’s worked with over the years. Perhaps the second most important director in his career is Woody Allen. He’s appeared in half a dozen of Woody’s film. Does he view himself as the nemesis of Woody’s screen proxies? “I was a little bit that it in Manhattan, the first one I did,” Shawn declared. “Otherwise I think I’ve been one of the troupe.” He was hyped as a sexual monster by Diane Keaton’s character in Manhattan. Did this role have the ladies rushing up to him to experience his carnal secrets? He laughed. “Most people took it as a movie.”

His work as the voice of Rex the Green Dinosaur in the Toy Story movies does get the kids running towards him.

“I do meet a lot of kids at airports. There are kids who recognize my voice. They hear my voice and go, ‘That guy is dinosaur.’”

He has recorded his dinosaur lines for the upcoming Toy Story 3. He was relived that during the time when Pixar was going to split with Disney that the mouse didn’t follow through with its threat to make Toy Story 3 without John Lasseter and his crew’s involvement. “That would have been absolutely horrible,” Shawn said.

One of Shawn’s earliest role is a brief part in Bob Fosse’s dazzling All That Jazz. What memories does Shawn have of working with the legendary director?

“That was way back there,” Shawn said. “I was only there for like a day. I’m almost incapable of answering that one. It all went by in a couple of hours. It was strange because he was painting a very disturbing portrait of himself. I found it disturbing.”

As a playwright, would he ever create an autobiographical work that intense?

“I’m guided by a muse. I don’t choose a subject,” Shawn said. “I don’t have outlines or notecards. It’s more like a sentence comes to me and maybe a few months later I figure out who said it and why. I don’t pick the subjects. I don’t even know who’s talking. Eventually it’s something. After if it becomes something, I can sort of help it become the essence of what it is.”

My next question was blunt: You were in Southland Tales. What was that about?

“It was probably a lot of things at the same time,” Shawn said. “One of them that you can’t possibly question is that it’s not supposed to be America today. But it provides some amazing portraits of America today. If somebody asks what was it like in those boom years, the crazy years under George W. Bush, you can probably say look at that party on the blimp in Southland Tales. That was what it was like. The scene on the boardwalk is kinda like what was it like back in the day when people were wandering around on the boardwalk.

“If you get into questioning it, you might never find the answers. If you take it for what it is, your minutes were well spent watching it. You have to give yourself to the film. To answer the questions either will never happen or it would take 20 viewings to answer. You don’t have to. If you don’t like it, you can leave after half an hour. But it’s worth a third time to watch it.”

Shawn enjoyed playing a rather glamorous man on the silver screen. “I loved my own character. I’ve never been in a film where I enjoyed my own look more than that. It was amazing,” he said.

E! and Entertainment Tonight always focus on the work out of the stars. How does Wallace Shawn keep in shape? What is his exercise routine?

“I live in a fifth floor walk up so that’s my beauty secret,” Shawn disclosed. “In order to go home, I have to perform an athletic feat.”

DAMN TWITTER

I hate Twitter. I won’t use Twitter.. Nothing makes Twitter more uncool is seeing senators ignoring a presidential speech with their bodies hunched over so they can Twitter on their iPhones. Good thing most of the senators are now orphans. If my mom caught me Twittering instead of paying attention to the president, she’d beat me with a plank from my campaign platform. There should be a fourth grade teacher going around the Capitol building and taking those iPhones away. How are we supposed to tell children they need to pay attention at major events when the millionaire politicians look like a pack of teenage girls. Sen. John McCain might as well pound the podium demanding the Jonas Brothers perform at his kids’ birthday parties.

Dear Meghan McCain. I read your blog about how hard it is to find a great guy to date. Sorry to break the news, but I’m married. That means you’ll be settling for second best no matter what. So just go on Craigslist and email Mr. He’ll Do. Of course you can always wait for my upcoming Reality Show: “Mr. Big Love” where numerous women compete to be my really rich mistress.

BLU-RAY HEAVEN

Pinocchio: 70th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray is a major upgrade from the Golden Collection DVD. Walt Disney’s version of the fairytale about an old man who makes a wooden boy puppet that comes to life. The big problem is that the boy is still made out wood so he’s a bit of a freak. His only hope is to be good enough that the fairy will turn him into a flesh and blood boy. The Blu-ray picture is gorgeous. There’s an impulse to step through the screen to shoot pool at Pleasure Island. This is the standard of how to do an HD transfer of classic animation. The bonus features include “No Strings Attached.” The hour long documentary gets into the details of how Walt put together the film and its legacy. The deleted scenes are storyboards. They even dig up the live action reference footage used by the animators. We finally get to hear the “Honest John” song that was clipped early in production. They include a DVD of the new transfer for people who aren’t sure when they’re going to buy a Blu-ray, but want Pinocchio in the collection so they won’t have to wait for it to be re-released in a decade. Your nose will grow from the excitement of watching this in 1080p.

South Park: The Complete Twelfth Season Blu-ray keeps the caustic comedy coming from America’s favorite elementary schoolers. This is the season that brought back memories of Heavy Metal with “Major Boobage.” Kenny can slip into the fantasy world if he lets a cat fart in his face. Just when I thought smoking banana peels was the hot rage with little kids. “Britney’s New Look” really gets to the heart of TMZ’s round the clock coverage of the meltdown queen. We can laugh at this now that the press has declared that Britney is back. “About Last Night……” joins Obama and McCain in an Ocean’s 11 heist. It’s cute, but not cutting. The big bonus feature is “Six Days to South Park.” We get to follow the production details of an episode. They also show how they worked to give “Boobage” the Heavy Metal look. What’s really amazing is how this semi-primitive animation looks so stunning in Hi-Def. This must be how it looks on Matt & Trey’s megacomputer after its been rendered. The discs include a digital copy that’s only compatible with Windows media. Why no love for us Mac users?

Let The Right One In – Blu-ray is Twilight for grown ups. This Swedish import gives us a real teen romance involving a blood sucker that hasn’t been sanitized for clean living undead creatures. Oskar is a kid who gets extremely bullied at school. He’s a human punching bag. But things get better when he meets Eli. She’s a creepy yet cool girl. Oskar doesn’t quite understand the nature of his new friend. We’re given the horrible fear that she’s going to turn on him. Let’s face the simple fact, a girl has to get a drink from somebody. The blood effects are not for the weak of heart. For anyone who is sick of the Twilight hype, Let the Right One In is the real deal when it comes to fanged entertainment. It’ll spook you. The Blu-ray really sucks you into the chilly environment. You’ll want to break out your Snuggie.

Primal Fear: Hard Evidence Edition – Blu-ray brings back the moment when Ed Norton declared he was an actor you better damn well notice. He elevates what could have been another terminal Richard Gere film. Some people might want to give credit to the director, but what’s Gregory Hoblit done since this movie that you’ll admit to have paid to see? Norton is an altar boy accused of killing a Catholic Archbishop. His only hope is Richard Gere being his lawyer. The courtroom drama allows Norton to just take his character to the hilt. Is he guilty or being set up? He’s not going to let that define his performance. The Blu-ray really lets you get into Norton’s facial detail during telling scenes. The three bonus features discuss the complexity of spinning a courtroom tale with an intricate web of lies.

The Kite Runner – Blu-ray reminds us that are a lot of messed up people in Afghanistan. The first half of the film deals with the friendship between a poor child and a child of privilege. The rich kid’s family escapes the country when the Taliban take control. But his guilt drags him back to save his friend. The images are beautiful yet terrorizing. Watching this is 1080p makes you almost want to visit except when you discover the horrifying truth, you’ll never book passage. This is not a tourism board approved visit to greater Kabul. The big bonus feature is a commentary track with director Marc Forster (Quantum of Solace) and novelist Khaled Hosseini.

A Mighty Heart Blu-ray tells the true story of when Wall Street Journalist Daniel Pear was kidnapped while working on a story in Pakistan. His pregnant wife (played by Angelina Jolie) is in a frantic race against time to free him before the worst can happen. Will he be rescued in time to see his baby’s birth? I won’t give away the ending in case you’ve somehow avoided read a newspaper over the last decade. Director Michael Winterbottom and his crew keep the action gritty. This comes out in the 1080p transfer. You feel the dust kicking up as feet race around. The big bonus feature is a 30 minute behind the scenes documentary. Everyone sticks to the serious nature of the film. There’s even a public service announcement about protecting journalists. Seeking the truth in a warzone is a very dangerous proposal.

Things We Lost in the Fire – Blu-ray is a small film that deserves bigger attention. Halle Berry’s life has been destroyed by an act of violence. Benicio Del Toro (Che) arrives to help her out. However he’s not the most stable of guys. He’s got demons to battle every day. It’s an emotionally raw film with these two Oscar winners pushing each other to the edge. This was Berry’s proof that Monsters Ball wasn’t a fluke. She’s got skills. “A Discussion” gets down to the characters in this behind the scenes view. Seeing it in Blu-ray lets you appreciate the human qualities of these characters.

DVD SHELF

Andy Richter Controls the Universe: The Complete Series brings together all 19 episodes that were stretched over two seasons including 5 that never aired on Fox. Richter is a writer at a major corporation with an over active imagination. He dreams of wearing a suit of puppies into the office. “Little Andy in Charge” has him finally hook up with a hot woman. The trouble happens when he discovers she’s an anti-Semite. In order to feel good about the sex, he volunteers at a local Jewish center. Can this compromise between his big brain and his package work? Or will it explode in a bad way? The show deserved a longer run, but such is the curse of being non-animated comedy on Fox.

The Fugitive: Season Two, Volume Two keeps the manhunt of Dr. Richard Kimble (David Janssen) going for another 15 episodes.. For those wondering, they’ve kept a majority of the original score. Only a few musical moments have been replaced. “Brass Ring” has Robert Duvall as wheelchair bound guy who runs a merry-go-round with his sister (Angie Dickinson). Kimble helps them out and gets a heaping of Angie. However he’s being set up as a patsy for a nasty crime. “Nicest Fella You’d Ever Want to Meet” proves that Tom Skerritt (Alien) and Dabney Coleman were young. “Fun and Games and Party Favors” gets a thumbs up for the title. “Everybody Gets Hit in the Mouth Sometimes” makes Kimble drive a truck for Jack Klugman (The Odd Couple). This paranoid show is still great viewing.

J.A.G.: The Eighth Season opens with an extreme change in a cast member when Bud gets his legs blown off in “Critical Condition.” This is a series that doesn’t mess around. I’ve seen shows swap actors or kill them or have them go off to London for acting school. But to go Lt. Dan on a character? That’s intense military action. The other major highlight of the season is “Ice Queen.” It introduces NCSI to the world. Mark Harmon (Summer School) and David McCullam (Man From U.N.C.L.E.) would become major TV stars once more in this military spin-off. They made 10 seasons of J.A.G. so only two more to go before Catherine Bell gets discharged.

To Catch A Thief: Centennial Collection is Hitchcock bringing the cool to the French Riviera. Cary Grant is a retired jewel thief who finds his old tactics being used by a copycat. Or is he lying to us? He gets tangled up with Grace Kelly in a suave adventure. The second disc has dozens of extra features. “Unacceptable Under the Code” details how the film had to battle the MPAA censors to get away with fireworks. “A Night with the Hitchcocks” has Alfred’s daughter and granddaughter talk about their time with him. There’s a really shocking tale of what happened to the love birds from The Birds. We get a great sense of what went into this production that was mostly shot on location.

The Odd Couple: Centennial Collection brings a fresh transfer to the movie that truly made Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon an iconic couple (Fortune Cookie didn’t break them that much). Matthau is Oscar, a messy sports reporter. Lemmon is his anal pal Felix. He’s been dumped by his wife and about to jump when he’s saved by Oscar. The two become roommates and the clutter clash goes into overdrive. The best part of the film is how it reminds us of the importance of Poker night. The bonus features deal with how the Broadway play was transformed into the hit film. Did you know the set from the film was used in the first season of The Odd Couple TV series? Matthau and Lemmon’s sons contribute the commentary track.

Living With the Wolfman follows Shaun Ellis and Helen Jeffs hanging out with wolves. They do look like sweet doggies, but they can turn fierce fast. The show is graphic when showing how wolves tear apart a deer. You might not want kids who love Bambi to get a gander. The eight part series gives a great sense of what wolves are really like in the wild and semi-contained environments. He feeds them roadkill. Shaun is a rather intense looking guy who could easily end up at a UFC match. Do you think this guy ever saw Lucan as a kid?

Raw Nature is a five part series that brings dangerous lives of animals. There’s no petting zoo footage here. This is about man decided to move into areas once dominated by predator creatures like sharks, rhinos, anacondas and lions. A pack of adventure filmmakers take us into these animal hotzones. It’s like Marlon Perkins to the extreme. No wimpy and cute critters will be exposed on this DVD.

A Woman Called Golda was one of the last projects from Ingrid Bergman (Casablanca). She plays Golda Mier, a young girl from Milwaukee who rose up to help found Israel. Judy Davis (Barton Fink) plays the younger Golda. Robert Loggia (The Sopranos) plays Anwar Sadat. It’s a strange piece of casting only topped by Nigel Hawthrone (The Madness of King George) as King Abdullah.. Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock) is properly cast as Morris Meyerson. He really is Jewish. It’s got all the flourishes expected in a TV movie that maintains enough historical accuracy to keep everyone happy.

Sidney Sheldon’s Master of the Game was from the golden mini-series age of the early ’80s. Dyan Cannon is a ruthless woman who won’t hold back. She’s mean as she runs her empire. She steals husbands. Destroys her own son (Harry Hamlin). She wants her granddaughter take over not only her company, but attitude. It’s like reading a trashy beach novel except without the fear of getting a suntan. Cannon would go on to be the most annoying fan at LA Lakers games.

Elmo and Friends: Tales of Adventure gives us three slices of Sesame Street that will thrill small children. Elmo’s Amazing Alphabet Race has the little red wonder going against the clock to get from A to Z. Hopefully he won’t be looking for those lost letters. Golden Triangle of Destiny gives Texas Telly a leading role. He’s wearing his semi-Indiana Jones gear while keeping the education action coming.. He’s looking for certain shapes. The Adventures of Little Big Bird has the big yellow pal get shrunk down to a few inches high. Can he survive life on the street when he’s small enough to fall through society’s crack? This DVD is only available at Target.

Jim Gaffigan: King Baby gives us the uncut special that recently ran on Comedy Central. He’s more than just a pitchman for Sierra Mist. My favorite part of the routine is when he talks to us about bacon. “Yeah bacon.” He knows the secret of bacon and how anything can be improved if wrapped in bacon. “Bacon bits are the fairy dust of food.” Mmmmm bacon. How can you not like a comic who loves bacon? More bacon comedy. The DVD also includes episodes of Pale Force and Our Massive Planet. Get to know Gaffigan, your new bacon buddy.

Secrets of the Furious Five is a thirty minute special featuring the cast of Kung Fu Panda. We learn the secret origins of the other five fighters that backed the Panda in his feature film debut. The Panda has to teach a bunch of little kids and uses his pals’ origins as inspiration that all buttkickers start small. Jack Black and Dustin Hoffman return to their character voices.

GIVEAWAY ON THE RUN

CBS DVD is allowing 5 lucky readers to win a copy of The Fugitive: Season Two, Volume Two. All you have to do is answer this simple question: What faceless star of the Fugitive went on to his own Quinn-Martin series? Send your answer along with your name and address to mokaha@aol.com. The staff of Party Favors, Richard Diamond and Harrison Ford are not eligible to win.

Genius Entertainment and Sesame Street want 5 other lucky readers to win a copy of Elmo and Friends: Tales of Adventure. All you have to do is tell me what Muppet was featured in my Creepy PA segment of the Party Favors. Send you answer along with your name and address to mokaha@aol.com. The staff of the Party Favors, Buddy & Jim and Mr. Hopper are not eligible to win. Both contests end March 24. Good luck.

March 18, 2009
A Bit Of A Chat with Ken Plume & Bo Burnham

I’m Ken Plume, and soon you’ll be listening to “A Bit Of A Chat” with me, Ken Plume.

In this episode, I’m having a bit of a chat with comedian, actor, and musician Bo Burnham.

YouTube has spawned many an overnight star, but most of them burn hot and then are extinguished by cold, dark apathy as fickle audiences move on to the next thing.

Tortured star metaphor aside, comedian Bo Burnham is the rare exception to that tragic metaphor, as he’s been able to forge a stand-up career – and a path in Hollywood – since posting his first music video on the site at age 16.

Since then, he’s secured an agent, landed a Comedy Central special (airing on March 27th), is releasing an album (on March 10th, which also includes a DVD of the aforementioned special), and is currently writing the script and music for a film that’s been described as the anti-High School Musical for Judd Apatow.

Be sure to visit his official website at www.BoBurnham.com

What follows is my conversation with Bo. It’s certainly one of the more unique interviews I’ve done, conducted soon after one of his college shows was met by a small group of student protesters. Nobody said edgy comedy was universal.

Here now is my chat with Bo Burnham… Hope you enjoy…

Download “A Bit of a Chat with Ken Plume & Bo Burnham“:

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Drop Ken a line HERE.

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You can also find more of my interviews by clicking HERE.

March 9, 2009
Trailer Park: Vinessa Shaw (TWO LOVERS) – Interview

By Christopher Stipp

The Archives, Right Here

I’m awesome. I wrote a book. It’s got little to do with movies. Download and read “Thank You, Goodnight” right HERE for free.

And now, you can follow me on Twitter. Find me here, my oh so original name on the thing is Stipp so come on and follow my stray ramblings.

Now, before I begin today’s interview this week’s DVD Giveaway is being brought to you by SWING VOTE on DVD. I have five (5) copies of this film to give out and if you’re interested in being considered for one just send me a note to Christopher_Stipp@yahoo.com and just put SWING VOTE in the subject line. Good luck and for those who would like to know about this film here is the synopsis:

Bud Johnson (Kevin Costner) is just your below-average Joe. He works in an egg factory, likes to knock back a few too many beers, and is a single parent to 12-year-old Molly (Madeline Carroll), a bright spitfire who does her best to keep her dad on the straight and narrow. Patriotic Molly insists that apathetic Bud do his civic duty and vote in the upcoming presidential election, a tight race between Republican incumbent Andrew Boone (Kelsey Grammer) and Democratic candidate Donald Greenleaf (Dennis Hopper). Soon the media and both candidates descend upon Bud’s hometown of Texico, New Mexico, when it’s determined that his vote wasn’t counted and will decide the outcome of the entire presidential election. Now that Bud is a ‘somebody’ – there’s even a ‘Bud Cam’ capturing his every move – will he be swayed by visits to Air Force One and the ‘Bud Ball’ held in his honor, or will he be the voice of the American people and vote for the better candidate?

Writer/director Joshua Michael Stern (NEVERWAS) tackles American politics in his second feature film. The lengths the candidates go to in order to win Bud’s vote are high points of the film, as they find themselves supporting initiatives that are completely opposed to their platforms at the urging of their campaign managers, played by Stanley Tucci and Nathan Lane. Grammer is well cast as Boone, and it’s a hoot to see counterculture icon Hopper in this light. Costner makes Bud likable despite the loser stereotype he personifies. But this film belongs to Carroll, a lovely young actress who can steal a scene with one look. If nothing else, SWING VOTE is a reminder that even though politics may be a game, every single vote really does count.

———————

Quiet.

It’s the best way to describe TWO LOVERS, a film that takes the archetype of a man torn between two women, one sultry while the other is, well, not, and turns it enough to make this movie one you have to seek out and watch. James Gray has crafted world where place and time actually matter, the environment seeps into every scene, and it enhances this timeless story of restlessness and the quest for finding the love you can call your own.

Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow and, today’s guest, Vinessa Shaw, the film is gingerly making its way through the art house circuit. You may have seen Vinessa in countless television or film productions, most recently her turns in 2006’s THE HILLS HAVE EYES and 2007’s 3:10 TO YUMA, and it is the latter film that most would probably recognize her from, albiet not in the most opportune way. Vinessa indirectly got caught up in a sort of Perv-Gate case between Internet blogger Jeff Wells and YUMA’s director, James Mangold. The particulars are there for you to see but it tickled me to see that almost a year later, when this film screened last year in May, his mention of the film added this footnote at the bottom of his comments: “Sidenote: anyone who chimes in about Shaw in a certain context — you know what I mean — will be banned for life from this website. Fair warning.” His reprint of this column, centering around the film’s debut a few weeks ago, noticeably had the above comment deleted.

Regardless, Vinessa is spectacular in every regard in this film. It’s harder, I would posit, to be demure and muted in a film when you’re having to go up against two other characters like Phoenix and Paltrow who made it their business to be known on the screen. Seek this one out. It’s one of the best films to come out this Winter.

VINESSA SHAW: Hi, Chris…

CHRISTOPHER STIPP: Hello…

SHAW: How are you?

CS: How are you doing and how’s your press day going?

SHAW: Good. Very good. Thanks for asking.

CS: Is this part of the job that you like or could do without?

SHAW: I actually like it. There’s such a long time from the end of shooting to the release that talking about it refreshes you and reminds you why you liked doing what you did in the film.

CS: One of the things I wanted to ask you because I know our time is not that great but I would like to jump right into the character that you play. Opposite of Gwyneth Paltrow ““ the two of you are set up as diametric opposites. You are the safe and sane bet and Gwyneth plays the sort of firecracker. What initially drew you to a story that we’ve seen so many times before?

SHAW: Well, I really appreciated the honesty with which James wrote the piece because I felt like everything I read now is tongue-in-cheek and filed with irony and I just felt that everybody was straightforward and honest. Even if they had a lot of skeletons in their closet they were honest and felt like the characters leapt off the page for me. And I really particularly liked how Sandra and Leonard related to each other. I really liked Sandra’s amazing self-confidence she had yet still maintained a sense of awkwardness about her in speaking with Leonard and I really just appreciated the real true relationships the people had in this movie. It was very honest even if it’s complicated.

CS: And definitely compared to something like The Hills Have Eyes where you had a large production…this seems a little bit quieter.

SHAW: It’s very quiet. When I read it I thought it felt like a Mike Nichols film or something from the 70’s which I later found out that James is a huge fan of 70’s film and intimacy that those films had. It was a pleasure and such a refreshing thing to read.

CS: James’s aim ““ and when you see the final piece ““ it does feel like a movie we haven’t seen in a long, long time. He’s not being ironic, like you said, he’s being honest and trying to capture this moment in time. How did you come to feel what James’s vision was for this movie?

SHAW: I didn’t know quite the scope of how he would be filming the film until I got on set. I really started to see how simply he wanted to portray the characters and how each person’s life was true to life. Michelle and her glitzy boyfriend, her world seemed very real to me. I don’t know. I felt the way that I encountered or understood the scope of what James was doing was really how I felt when I was in Leonard’s bedroom or the kind of clothes that I wore. So, James didn’t take me through it but he knew that he wanted me to be simple and not fussy in terms of her clothing and the way that she is ““ Sandra is so I think you see that how Sandra is herself. I wasn’t privy to any of the lighting or the scope of the scene but I could feel it when I was on the set in Brighton Beach ““ tiny little rooms and small corridors ““ it was very intimate and lent for intimacy in the scene.

CS: Your character has been described as dowdy, frumpy, all these sort of terms ““ not flattering but obviously part of the role – and Gwyneth is supposed to jump off the page with her exuberance and what have you. It got me thinking. Why isn’t dependable attractive in movies? I mean, I think I understand it. I’m no slouch and I can appreciate why chaste doesn’t sell well but I would figure that your character would be the one to appreciate ““ the crazy ladies in films always end up boiling bunnies and rabbits in your stew like Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction. Why isn’t safe attractive?

SHAW: I think, of course, that we want to go and see a movie and go into an adventuresome world where we can escape from our own trappings, but I think we have to see, and it’s comforting to see, that Leonard goes on a crazy journey but does return back home.

The Wizard of Oz in a way, a physical way, going to another land and coming back but I think Leonard is dealing with the traumas he’s had of losing his fiancÃ© and he’s kind of exploring the different sides of his character and some of it’s dark and not pretty and he has to deal with the ramifications of having that dark side to him. And he goes there in order to come back to where he was in the beginning and realizes where he’s been almost like a dream. I think in the end most people would find it comforting that he does come back and hopefully they survive their relationship because most people could consider I wonder what will happen to Leonard but I really wonder what will happen to Sandra. Will she be able to withstand all his ups and downs and his antics?

CS: Exactly. It’s always the after story. It’s never a happily ever after and I think it gets to the heart of the movie that James is trying to make a truthful movie. I would love to know what you saw with why James seems to love working with Joaquin. It’s a no-brainer why someone would not want to work with him but they’ve worked together so often ““ how does that relationship translate on set?

SHAW: They are almost familial. It’s almost like they are family. I feel that Joaquin really trusts James as a director and he has a small close group of friends and I know he considers James as one of them. James is someone he can really trust so I think he can play any character with James as the director and he would know that whatever comes up on screen, he would feel comfortable with. I have head that Joaquin doesn’t see any of his movies.

CS: Really?

SHAW: Yes. He doesn’t watch any of his own films so I think that that plays a lot into whom he works with is that it’s if he feels comfortable on set with the person not really what happens on screen after the fact.

CS: How about you? Do you ever watch, re-watch, what you’ve been in for premiers or what have you?

SHAW: Yes. I don’t mind it at all. I enjoy it. The way I grew up, my mother would, because I was so rebellious as a kid with my mother ““ I started acting on the job. I didn’t go to any classes so my mother, I apologize to her now, but she had to be with me questioning her why would I do it that way, why take that stance on the character and she was fine, I will just record you and you can direct and judge yourself. So then she would record me for auditions before I would go in so I can make adjustments. So I’m very comfortable seeing myself play characters and having a more objective view of myself.

CS: Looking over your resume about where you’ve been for the last 15 years, you have been through a litany of television and film. How has life of an actor been as you look at how far you’ve come in the time you spent doing this?

SHAW: It’s so interesting because I think it’s all your perspective. Right now I feel like I’m just beginning. Maybe that is perhaps what makes an actor survive in this business ““ your constant curiosity and your tendency to feeling like that you have never arrived. I’m always feeling like I’m searching to play a more difficult character that would challenge me even more. So, looking back I feel like I’m just beginning. I feel like the training or roots have sunk in deep but I have yet to blossom into who I really am as an actor. I think I have yet to discover what that truly is.

CS: And I think I would absolutely second that. It’s funny how I heard about you, or discovered you, a couple years ago when you were in 3:10 to Yuma and internet blogger Jeff Wells petitioned James Mangold for topless photos of you. It’s an awful origin story and and I don’t know if you’ve heard about that brouhaha…

SHAW: I’ve heard that story in retrospect, yes.

(Laughs)

CS: It’s a little awkward but it indirectly made me want to know who you were. So I had to find out I watched 3:10 to Yuma was taken aback. I had to find out what else you’ve been in and I found you’ve been at this now for years. And it’s funny, I’d love to get your take as to why, but there seems to be some actress who come right out of the gate with something that’s just huge and you look on their IMDB page it just two films and they are already in the latest Jerry Bruckheimer production. How has it been mentally to say, “You know what, I haven’t hit my plateau yet, I keep going, reaching…”

SHAW: I really enjoy it because I just cringe when people would say “the IT girl”. Any of those things, I never wanted to be a flash in the pan. I really wanted to have a career that had longevity so I did my very, very best to make that happen. It’s so easy to type cast anyone in this business. How you look or how you act and I just refused to be typecast and people wanted to make me the girl next door, then, “No, she’s the hot sexy girl, oh no, she’s the wacky comedic lady, no, she’s”¦” I just want to be an actor and be able to explore any kind of role I want to.

So, I made a huge effort to continue to be an actor and a director’s actor. So, I worked with people who would put me in that realm. I was very specific and it has taken a lot of crafting and time to do it that way because my full vision is to have a long career. It kind of freaked me out because I saw a lot of my peers go really fast and quick to the top. I would feel I wouldn’t have anything behind me to support the reason for me to be there. I am somebody who feels I need to work hard for what success I achieve.

February 27, 2009
A Bit Of A Chat with Ken Plume & Tim Minchin

I’m Ken Plume, and soon you’ll be listening to “A Bit Of A Chat” with me, Ken Plume.

In this episode, I’m having a bit of a chat with comedian, actor, and musician Tim Minchin.

Like chocolate and peanut butter, he’s one of those rare breed of stand-ups that have hit upon the sweet combination of comedy and music, and over the last few years he’s brought his nouveau-cabaret act to audiences that have explosively grown in size and loyalty in both Britain and his native Australia.

He’s set his sights on the US next, so be the first on your block to be hip to a wonderful performer I can best describe as combining equal parts theatricality, musicianship, and glorious bombast. Minchin is the Meat Loaf of comedy.

I’d recommend you head over to his official website, www.TimMinchin.com, and do your best to acquire his recent live DVD, So Fucking Rock – and his new album, Ready For This? – Live at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London.

Here now is my chat with Tim Minchin… Hope you enjoy…

Download “A Bit of a Chat with Ken Plume & Tim Minchin“:

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Drop Ken a line HERE.

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February 26, 2009
Trailer Park: Julian Morris (DONKEY PUNCH) – Interview

By Christopher Stipp

The Archives, Right Here

I’m awesome. I wrote a book. It’s got little to do with movies. Download and read “Thank You, Goodnight” right HERE for free.

And now, you can follow me on Twitter. Find me here, my oh so original name on the thing is Stipp so come on and follow my stray ramblings. I’m really digging being able to follow such luminaries as Not Henry Rollins, Not Gene Simmons and others who aren’t the real celebutards they lead you to believe they are. It’s Web 2.0! Catch it!

Now, before we get into the interview with Julian Morris of DONKEY PUNCH I have some things to give away.

Specifically, I have 5 copies of the Buena Vista Home Entertainment release of BLINDNESS starring Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo. I also have a metric ton of posters featuring the image to the very right so if you’re looking to spruce up a cheery room here is your opportunity. For those who are unfamiliar with the film’s premise it is as follows:

From acclaimed director Fernando Meirelles (“The Constant Gardener”) comes this extraordinarily intense and gritty thriller that will change your vision of the world forever. Led by a powerful all-star cast featuring Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo and Danny Glover, this unflinching story begins when a plague of blindness strikes and threatens all of humanity. One woman (Moore) feigns the illness to share an uncertain fate in quarantine, where society is breaking down as fast as their crumbling surroundings. Based on Nobel Prize-winning Jose Saramago’s novel – let “Blindness” lead you on a journey where the only thing more terrifying than being blind is being the only one who can see.

If you’re interested in winning a copy, drop me a line at Christopher_Stipp@yahoo.com. I can’t think of anything difficult for you to win one so we’ll make this a first come, first served giveaway. And, because of some issues of shipping to locales out of North America, we’ll limit this contest to our neighbors to the north and anyone in the continental United States. It’s not that I don’t love you nutty Europeans but tracking this stuff to make sure it gets to you has been a pain. Blame the postal system.

Now, on with the interview…

———————–

The thing about Julian is that he’s a great interview.

The man has a way with casual conversation that you wonder if he’s been doing this for a long time or if he’s just that sincere when he talks about what gets him excited with regard to his work. The first time I talked to him it was over some water at the Beverly Hills Hotel (a swank locale that is excruciatingly difficult to navigate into but reeks of people who have more money than I’ll ever see in this lifetime) and I was struck by his genial and affable nature. That’s why when it was he who I could talk to regarding his newest venture, DONKEY PUNCH, I not only said yes but I campaigned to speak to him; it’s just easier when you have a connection with someone, however tenable and dubious the tether, that this helps to kick start a conversation when you only have 15 minutes to talk.

You’ve got to be able and make the subject feel comfortable and when you’re doing it over the phone it’s almost like you’re rushing a relationship where no one has the time for witless banter. Julian, though, is a true gentleman in the sense he’s willing to share his thoughts but is willing to go that extra few inches and talk about what he’s really thinking. It may not mean much to you, those who are reading this, but for someone like me, who is stuck on the other end of the phone, it’s the difference between a long 15 minutes and a conversation you wish could go a little longer. To be sure, you’ll hopefully be reading another conversation between him and I in the near future.

Again, like last week, DONKEY PUNCH is in limited release and will be out on video in mere months.

JULIAN MORRIS: Chris?

CHRISTOPHER STIPP: Sir…

MORRIS: Good to hear your voice again.

CS: You too. How have you been?

MORRIS: The last time was the Beverly Hills Hotel, right?

CS: That’s correct. How have things been?

MORRIS: Since I’ve seen you last, things have been incredible. Social’s been great. Life’s great. Did a movie with Tom Cruise. Did, this one, DONKEY PUNCH. Played a doctor on ER. What else? Got another movie coming out this year that you would be interested in, called SORORITY ROW.

CS: Well, I had no idea that you were in this film. Zero.

MORRIS: What? You saw it?

CS: I’m having a copy being sent to me. I think it’s at my house today.

MORRIS: Great.

CS: I’m hoping to be able to watch it tonight. I’ve just culled a bunch of information about it and now I’m really amped to see it at least after reading everything about it.

MORRIS: It’s pretty out there. I’m really proud of it. I think it’s really different from movies that are being made for our demographic. It’s a smart movie. Incredibly disturbing but people get a kick out of it.

CS: How did it come across your table? And I only ask because I know because Ollie [Blackburn] is a first time director. This film was only made for less than a million pounds if I am to believe the reports.

MORRIS: Well, I loved Oliver Blackburn’s reel. I loved the short films that he’s done. I loved the videos he’s done. And when we were meeting to discuss the film ““ his insights into the character and his vision really excited me. And also with the way he directs, you would never believe he is a first time director. He directs with the confidence and also the ease of someone who has been doing it for decades. So, how I came about it was being in America a lot I was shooting this film Privileged and my agent called me up from London and said there is a script that I think you will love and initially I was being looked at for another part but I really like the character I play and when you see it you will understand why. He’s interesting. At the beginning he’s quite shy, slightly awkward, young man but with this huge internal to be the alpha male or at least within the respect of the huge chasm between the man that he is and the man that he wants to be and that was really exciting to play out. He does the famous Donkey Punch. How could I say no to that?

(Laughs)

CS: Exactly. That’s all I’ve been hearing about this technique. How was it doing the thriller/horror genre? You’ve been through it now with your other film…

MORRIS: CRY WOLF…

CS: So do you have this down to a science about what it takes?

MORRIS: I guess I’ve been lucky in that all the characters I’ve played have been exceptionally different. Josh is very different from Owen in CRY WOLF. And not only that, the movies have been very different. Whereas CRY WOLF is, I don’t want to say generic, but it was a very Hollywood slasher of it’s time and I think that a film like SORORITY ROW which I just did is like a remake of one of those 90’s films like SCREAM ““ a lot of that dark twisted humor running though it and DONKEY PUNCH is more intellectual and serious one. I don’t know that I would describe it as a horror film as much as fascist almost in it’s intensity of extreme thriller in the way STRAW DOGS was and I know that Pauline Kael, the terrific critic, she coined it “fascist cinema” and I think DONKEY PUNCH is more in that genre. Like Michael Haneke’s film, FUNNY GAMES, CACHE, etc.

CS: Speaking of the way the movie unwinds, I read that it was very unique in that it was almost shot in sequence.

MORRIS: Yes, the director was great. Some things were done on stage and that was separate, but it was all one location on the boat, either below the boat or on deck and did that in sequence setting up the character development.

CS: The old adage of you never shoot on water

MORRIS: You never work with animals or kids…especially in porn.

(Laughs)

You know what? I think it was surprisingly nice shooting on water. It was a gorgeous super yacht that was the kind that you see on MTV owned my wealthy people or huge rock stars. It was great fun. And also the fact that we were all on this boat in this relatively small space. There weren’t dressing rooms, never in trailers, a single green room. We would be there in our wet costumes when it was cold, covered in blood and it was intense. There was never escape of the characters or anyone else and I think that intensity comes through in the film.

CS: How was that? Now you’ve been on a few sets of this kind ““ this variety. What kind of challenges does horror, an intense thriller, like this present? What do you have to bring to a role to really get that kind of emotion across in your performance?

MORRIS: Well I think in any scene you want to bring realism. I think with the horror genre you tend to be looking at the emotion of fear a lot and particularly with horror and I think it’s true with all cinema, at least in the cinema I like to make and the characterization I like to make, you want it to be an incredibly empathetic vicarious experience for the viewer in a sense that I want the audience to empathize with my character plus I want them to feel what my character is going through. Any successful cinema, when you are feeling what that character is going through, when you are in that experience, so whether I’m running away from a nice bear I can cry wolf I want the audience to be running with me. I want them to get that tightness in their chest, their heart pounding or in this film ““ there’s a torture scene and I’m digging a knife in someone (I hope I didn’t give anything away but I think it’s fine to say) I want the audience to be torturing that character with me or at least going through what I’m thinking and what I’m feeling while I’m doing it. If I’ve done that successfully that’s great. If not, oops.

CS: And I guess on that point as well and something I want to bring back with your stint on ER for a few episodes, is the idea of ensemble acting. How is that working within a group, is there a dynamic of sorts that has to take place, whereas do you have to throw it back or forward to make sure you don’t overshine anybody?

MORRIS: Ensemble is great. I think when you are in the lead in something there is just so much what the audience sees but there’s a lot of you are on your own a lot just because of how the filming and the machinations of the filming takes place. When you are doing a scene with a lot of other actors it won’t always be with the same people you’ll be in your travel a lot of the time. You’ll be first in and last out. You’ll spend a lot of time by yourself. The experience is quite isolated. The experience is all good but it’s isolated. Ensemble acting you are with your cast mates all the time. It’s a different feeling. A great sense of teamwork and I think it helps that you are always with the other actors and feeding off them, bouncing off them, not just on camera but off camera as well so you bring that to the set as well.

CS: Being that it’s an ensemble, ensemble cast as well, all these things working against you, first of all it’s low budget, second it’s that it’s a first time director, third you are shooting this thing in 24 days. Were there really any challenging moments where people had to come together to get something done, i.e. go beyond your acting duties, or did everything go smoothly?

MORRIS: This is about two people, the producer, Angus Lamont and also the first AV, Barry Wasserman. I think both AV’s don’t get credit nearly as much as they should but they were really in charge of creating the atmosphere and space on set with which to work between the actors and the directors. They did a tremendous job. So, although we shot in 24 days it was intense. It was challenging. We were jumping in the sea which was probably pretty close to freezing and spent long hours ““ at one point we shot 24 hours straight. We never got the feeling that we were being rushed at all or forced to act on the nail. The space was always really terrific to work in and very comfortable. That said, the intensity of the drive and the excitement of working in such confinement both on the boat and in time, did create a sense of urgency and intensity and I think that comes through in a successful way and translates itself very well into the film.

CS: Looking at the finished product, what came up on screen, a lot of films try to mimic this, why does this one stand out? Why is this film getting attention?

MORRIS: Because it’s very real and realism works in a number of ways. It works well for the horror. The horror is this fantastic imagined horror. The baddie isn’t some supernatural being with crazy feet. It’s us. We’re the enemy. The other characters are the enemy. We are each other’s own worst enemy. My character is his own worst enemy. Because it’s so real, the audience can associate with them far more. And in that sense, the experience for them is more haunting and exciting. And the last thing is that it’s real. When these kids are on the boat, and they are young people, they are doing what any other young person would be doing or would like to be doing with their best mates, gorgeous girls, drinking a little bit, skinny dipping in the Mediterranean as the sun’s setting. It’s a crazy orgy. And up until the point of the donkey punch it is really the best of youth or the best of any fanaticized youth. After which these real people are confronted with an extraordinary situation and how they deal with it is probably how many young people would deal with it and try to get away with it. And it all goes wrong and leads to this bloodbath. Does that make any sense?

CS: What elevated this? From the very beginning you would think that if you were explaining it to someone they would be apt to say “Nah, this seems like just another teen thing” but what elevated it for you?

MORRIS: I think Oliver Blackburn is probably one of the greatest directors working right now in Britain and his vision was incredible. The cinematic devices he used, whether it was slow motion which was reminiscent of Peckinpah, STRAW DOGS, he drives this menacing destructive crushing atmosphere that’s on this boat and it is a great experience when you are watching it. It’s definitely nails getting right down to the knuckle.

CS: Julian, I know our time is short so let me ask just one more question of you. You are doing a lot of TV, you’re doing a lot of films now, where is your heart taking you? Do you want to have your cake and eat it to? Do you want to keep doing both? What’s on the horizon?

MORRIS: Yeah. I think the line now between great film and great TV is diminished. I think it’s quite easy to swim between the two and I’m just enjoying playing great characters and I want to continue playing characters that inspire me and hopefully inspire those that watch them.

February 20, 2009
A Bit Of A Chat with Ken Plume & Matt Berry

I’m Ken Plume, and soon you’ll be listening to “A Bit Of A Chat” with me, Ken Plume.

In this episode, I’m having a bit of a chat with actor and musician Matt Berry.

Though he’d been making his way around the club circuit as a musician and performer for a few years up to that point, Matt Berry first hit TV screens in the brilliant (and affectionate) send up of low-budgeted and over-acted 80’s dramas, Garth Marenghi’s Dark Place, in the role of cocky surgeon Dr. Lucien Sanchez.

What followed was the equally memorable role of Dixon Bainbridge in the cult hit The Mighty Boosh, a recurring role on the Dark Place “spin-off” Man To Man with Dean Learner, and the even more cult show Snuff Box, which he co-created and co-starred in with fellow Boosh alum Rich Fulcher.

He’s perhaps best known now for playing the unhinged CEO of Renyholm Industries, Douglas Renholm, in Graham Linehan’s hit sitcom The IT Crowd

What you may not know is that Berry is also a musician, who’s third album – Witchazel – is available on Valentine’s Day. For more information, check out his MySpace page at www.myspace.com/mattberrysmusic

Oh, and you can preview a track from his new album HERE

A small note on this interview – please excuse the less-than-stellar audio quality. I could give you the reasons for it, but they’d most likely only bore you.

Here now is my chat with Matt Berry… Hope you enjoy…

Download “A Bit of a Chat with Ken Plume & Matt Berry“:

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February 13, 2009
Trailer Park: Aaron Yoo (FRIDAY THE 13th) – Interview

By Christopher Stipp

The Archives, Right Here

I’m awesome. I wrote a book. It’s got little to do with movies. Download and read “Thank You, Goodnight”right HERE for free.

And now, you can follow me on Twitter. Find me here, my oh so original name on the thing is Stipp so come on and follow my stray ramblings.

Aaron Yoo is the funniest person in FRIDAY THE 13TH. It’s not a distinction that serves him well in this regard but Aaron provides some short and snappy comic relief before coming face to face with the homicidal maniac looking to kill everyone. The genuinely nice thing about Aaron’s performance, though, is that he represented one potential kill in this movie about, well, murder. As I mentioned in my review of the film this entry stands heads and shoulders (ones that haven’t yet been decapitated) above its peers if you were to stack it against the “horror” entries of the 90’s. Back then it seemed to be all about irony and not so much about the killin’. This FRIDAY THE 13TH, though, is all about the killing and I couldn’t have been more delighted. The screams are great, the creativity that went into the kills was inspired and you have what is a rock solid reboot of a film.

The last time I talked with Aaron he was starring last year in 21 and so having the chance to talk to him again was something I could not pass up. I caught up with Aaron a couple of days ago, the night after the film’s premiere in LA, to talk about Voorhees, the nature of horror and whether Jason ever did a little soft shoe right before takes. FRIDAY THE 13TH opens everywhere today…

AARON YOO: What’s up?

CHRISTOPHER STIPP: I saw the movie last night.

YOO: Were you at that big messy thing we were at?

CS: No man. I live here in Arizona…so I don’t get to do any of that.

YOO: Oh, OK. I more or less saw the movie last night myself.

CS: Really?

YOO: There was more of a disaster around it probably than was going on around your end. It was just the premiere and those are always like the equivalent of a human shipwreck.

(Laughs)

Chaos and more chaos and flashing lights and cameras and afterwords you are stranded on an island of alcohol.

(Laughs)

CS: Well, what was it like seeing it last night finally all put together?

YOO: It’s really interesting. I’ve never done a full on horror movie. I found it interesting. I’ve done scare stuff in the past but when you know a scare is coming it’s kind of, it comes sort of as a intellectual exercise so it’s hard to tell. I’m not really sure and curious to know how editors and directors and such of horror films put movies together because if you are not scared by yourself, what’s the mathematics of what scares a person? People were being scared around me and so I was like, “OK…” It’s a really odd experience.

CS: I was reading a little of what happened on the set and found out that your first day on the set came after you had your appendix taken out.

YOO: Yeah, I actually had a bit of a complication from appendix surgery from years ago and so it was just something that acted up and was at the Kayne concert and I thought I don’t feel good. So it’s basically the equivalent of having appendicitis again. Brutal to have that twice in your life. I went the morning after and called my cast mate Arlen Escarpeta at 8:30 or 9:00 in the morning and said, “Hey, I think you need to take me to the hospital.” So he was like, “OK, I’m coming.” And then the docs said, “You need surgery.”

I initially thought it was going to be schedule prohibitive of me doing this movie but give all credit to Platinum Dunes and everyone in the film and Marcus, and Brand, Andrew and Michael over at Platinum Dunes and everybody. They wanted me to stay on the film so they filled the whole schedule around so I could have time off and I came back on set 10 days after surgery or something like that and started shooting again. So it was pretty cool. I did a fair amount of the movie. My own little trivia question is more like how much of the movie did I do? But I did a fair amount of the movie with 18 staples so it was a pretty interesting experience.

CS: Based on that, there is a lot of wiggling on your part. You get a little physical with Jason.

YOO: Yeah, if you could have seen ““ I guess what a horror movie is is to see the expressions of my producers every time ““ I did a lot of falls and stuff and did that on purpose and I didn’t really them I was going to do it until I started doing it. And people thought I should say hey, I might fall here. The first time I would do it in rehearsal or do it in a take people were like, “Cut, cut, cut. Are you OK?” And I’m like, “Really, I’m OK. I’m doing that on purpose. Don’t. That’s a good take.”

So people would just hold their breath. I would freak them out like maybe I should have given them an advanced warning. Andrew Form, one of our producers, would say I was giving him a heart attack every time you do that. But sometimes, and I always feel like, getting to do what we do is a gift so you just have to have fun with it and don’t worry about anything else and you often don’t want to come back and not be doing my job. When I did my scene with Jason they were saying just kind of push him in the wall and mess him up and Derek and I…we were doing the scene and did a couple of takes and it didn’t feel like it was working and I said to him “Can you just push me into the wall?” and he said, “Are you are asking me if that is physically possible? Come on. I could do that with one arm.” So, I said, “OK, do it.”

And then he threw me into the wall and everyone was, “Whoa!” Because it looked real, right?

CS: One of the things that makes this movie so great is that it does. It feels brutal.

YOO: Yeah. I felt like that too, even if you know what’s coming or not, is the brutality of it. There were definitely scenes ““ there were scenes that surprised me and I don’t scare easily in general ““ but there were scenes where people were dying and the first couple of times you could hear the whole theater going, ah, ah, ah, oh, oh, oh. I think my character landed the biggest one of those.

CS: And well deserved because I was going to tell you when it does happen, and I’m not going to ruin anything for anybody, but it’s definitely one that caused a lot of reaction from the crowd.

YOO: Can I ask you what was the audience like where you were seeing it? Was it critics?

CS: No, it was a little bit of both. Very big theater. Maybe a dozen or so critics and maybe 100-200 regular fans.

YOO: Awesome. Awesome. It’s really interesting to see ““ a bunch of us are trying to see opening night screenings Friday ““ just to see what’s that like. The photographers at the premiere were wearing Jason masks. I was recently traveling out of the country and anywhere I went people knew Friday the 13^th. They couldn’t speak any English at all and I’d say Friday the 13^th in their language and they would say “Jason”, “hockey mask” and it’s incredible. So, I’m really curious to see what opening night audiences will be like for this movie. Should be a lot of fun.

CS: I think, genuinely, and I’m being honest, it does count as one of the best entries into the series because it takes out the goofiness and the high sheen of the previous entries.

YOO: Like what?

CS: I’m thinking when he kicks over the boom-box in JASON TAKES MANHATTAN.

(Laughs)

YOO: You know the whole story about Friday the 13^th is about where the hockey mask came from. It was only thing they could find to cover his head up. They lost the original cover they were using. It was a total accident. So, the whole series, the original, it’s amazing the cultural credit it has because there’s, and no disrespect to the filmmakers, but there’s a lot of on-the-fly patching things together in that original series so I think the plan they had over at New Line and Platinum Dunes was that, “Hey, we have this thing that everybody is so part of our sub-cultural sub-conscious but never been done well.”

I’m not sure what well is but, and you’re probably thinking what the heck am I talking about, this is not going to compete for an Oscar, but it’s a fun, if I may say, it’s a really fun ride.

CS: It absolutely is. You have Marcus directing and he did a great job of bringing back Texas Chainsaw but when you first initially got around this project, was it, and it’s OK to be honest to say a job is a job and I’ll take it, “I’ll do it” but were there any reservations on your part that it was not going to live up to what people were hoping it was in that this was going to be hopefully a straight up horror movie?

YOO: Well, I actually took my time thinking of it before getting on board the project. I went back and watched Marcus’s Texas Chainsaw and enjoyed the hell out of it. I was invited to take a look at the script which they were keeping under lockdown over at the Platinum Dunes offices and you roll up and there’s Transformers all over the place and all these posters and it was, I should have never asked the guys if this was done on purpose but they were like, here, why don’t you go take this script and go read it in Andrew’s office. And the office is just covered in mock-ups in pre-production art, costume posters, all this Friday the 13^th stuff ““ all over the room. I was like, wow, this is Friday, the f’n 13^th. Wow! And I was like, “If you’re going to do a horror movie, this is the way to go.” And it made sense from the beginning, Andrew, Marcus, Brad, everybody were like, we say sex, drugs, and Jason Voorhees. Bring back that kind of horror movie they stopped making in the early 80’s. You get the ones that are totally gruesome then you get all the iterations of the Scream genre and the Japanese and Korean horror remakes where it’s all atmospheric. But Friday the 13^th is kind of like a theme park and that was the goal and hopefully it delivers.

When we were making it we were in Austin, Texas, one of the best places on earth and we said, “Let’s just have fun.” And one of the good things about having surgery while you are shooting is that it really puts things ““ makes things very simple ““ I just had a serious health issue which is now past, and this thing we do is just fun. So I had such a blast.

CS: I have to know, did you ever stand along side Jason at the craft services table, with him in full regalia?

YOO: Yeah! Derek and I didn’t shoot a lot of scenes together. We didn’t actually work together for the first month and so we were all hanging out off set and then we would shoot two sets at the same time on stage and we would kick it. Derek is genuinely ““ and I don’t know if I should tell people this because I don’t want to ruin their experience at the film ““ but he’s a genuinely a wonderful human being and hilarious and actually a riot to work with. He will make you laugh with his mask on right before you are about to do a take and then they call “action” and you’re laughing and like, “I hate you.”

(Laughs)

“First of all, you ruined me. I can’t do the scene.” It’s interesting. I think maybe it’s best to meet Derek after you’ve seen Friday the 13^th. The guy is a specimen. A physical specimen. He’s about 6’7″, maybe 270. He literally could chuck me with one arm, but just a genuine and hilarious human being.

CS: I saw him last year at Comic-Con when I previewed the footage. It was just sick. It was great when they showed it and Derek seems to know how to make Jason seem more than what he is.

YOO: Absolutely. We had such a good time working together. Last night I meant to tell him ““ I’m not sure I ever told him ““ that there’s this thing about my death scene with Jason where people say it’s just crazy with this certain thing I’m doing and I basically got ““ Derek and I were riffing between takes and he said this one thing and made me think of this other thing and I tried to do something in the take but it totally failed but in trying to do it, it made the take longer than it was meant to so I died for a really long time and it got really messy, my accident, not intentional at all. I was trying to do something and it wasn’t working but somehow my failure made it a keeper take. I love that how movies and scenes sometimes weird things happen. You’re trying to do something and makes this other thing happen which is what should have happened and everything comes together by mistakes.

CS: How dis that work out, doing your death scene – When are you blocking it out and is it tightly choreographed? I ask because sometimes it looks like people are flopping around, you in particular, like a fish.

YOO: It’s very highly choreographed. I don’t know about all actors but half of why I got into this whole crazy business. I remember being in Disturbia I get hit with a bat. I got to do everything except for, David Morse’s character hits me so hard that they wind up having a stunt guy flip over and fall to the ground and I’m watching that and said, I can totally do that. So I fell over the fence and stuff and said, “Why can’t I do that? I can totally do that.” And they said, “Uh, what are we going to do if you break something?” So I always ask to do as much of that stuff as possible because I get such a kick out of it. It’s like playing when you were a kid. You get to mark it all the way through. You play choreographer. We had a lot of fun. You know my death scene came up the day of. There was no blocking. Most of the death’s you have a blocking rehearsal earlier on some day you weren’t shooting and work out the kinks. And you show up the day of and just agree on realities of the day and the space and schedule of shooting and everything but we didn’t even have the set built and second of all in the original script you don’t see me die on screen. Somewhere along the line they said, “That’s stupid. Why are we not showing that?” And so, it was just back and forth and tossing ideas at the brain trust and then the day of we come in in the morning and they say, we got it.

(Laughs)

And they told me, “Now we just have to figure out how to make this work by 2:00 this afternoon.” And, of course, we’re shooting other scenes. The special effects dept ““ Scott Stoddard is amazing does all the fake heads and amazing stuff and onset blood ““ very little computer CGI stuff. It’s old school, well done effects. So he had to come up with how it all was going to be done by 2:00 in the afternoon. He had basically 6 hours and we showed up on set and looking at the basic general idea and the tool shed and said, “What if it was over here, and that was over there….” We just kind of made it up. It was really fun. It’s really like when you are 7 years old and say, “No, I stabbed you, you’re dead. Honestly. This is a sword and you are honestly dead.” It’s just that sort of thing and I loved that when I was a kid. The one difference is that you have to get used to being covered in fake blood which is not comfortable after the third hour.

(Laughs)

CS: Well, in order to get his up by Friday I have to cut it short but I definitely want to end with a question. Looking back at your experience, seeing the film finished on the screen last night, what did you take away with the nature of what Jason represents to movie history?

YOO: I think of Jason as the id…No, not really. I can’t intellectualize what I hope is a fun movie. I don’t know when that kind of horror film really came in, whether it was originally Halloween or whatnot, but I think it is the kind of movie that titillates people in a good and healthy way. Like scaring the pants off of you is sometimes good for your general well being. And Jason is the boogey man that you know you are going to enjoy being frightened of. He’s not trying to teach you anything. He’s not trying to scare you for any reason other than for you to have a good time. And hopefully that’s what we are putting in a box and giving people for Valentine’s Day.

(Laughs)
—————————–
And now, for those still reading, who would like to win some FRIDAY THE 13TH swag? I have 6 FRIDAY THE 13TH branded hoodies to give away and if you’re interested in winning just jot me a note at Christopher_Stipp@yahoo.com and just write somewhere in that e-mail what your favorite entry is of this series. These things are L and XL, have a red little swath on the front saying FRIDAY THE 13TH and a pimp looking Jason mask that will always be looking behind you. They’re pretty pimp so big thanks to the sponsors who tossed some my way.

February 13, 2009
A Bit Of A Chat with Ken Plume & Robert Llewellyn

I’m Ken Plume, and soon you’ll be listening to “A Bit Of A Chat” with me, Ken Plume.

In this episode, I’m having a bit of a chat with actor, writer, presenter, and now web producer, Robert Llewellyn.

Robert Llewellyn is best known as the neurotic, bad Canadian-accented service mechanoid Kryten from the legendary British sci-fi comedy Red Dwarf. Not content to corner that market, he decided to expand into TV presenting, becoming a recognizable face outside of latex as the host of Scrapheap Challenge for 10 years, and more recently the host of How Do They Do It? and co-host of Top Trumps.

He’s also penned nine books, including a memoir on the filming of the infamous American version of Red Dwarf, novels, and most recently Sold Out: How I Survived a Year of Not Shopping.

Robert has also turned his eye towards the internet, doing a regular video podcast, Wet Liberal Weekly, and launching a brand new series called Carpool, wherein he interviews interesting people whilst – you guessed it – driving.

As if that weren’t enough, Red Dwarf has been resurrected after a 10 year absence with a brand new series of specials, the first of which airs this Spring.

You can find Robert on the web at www.llew.co.uk, and see Carpool at www.llewtube.com.

Before we get things going, though, Robert shot a short introductory video for our readers, which is immediately followed by the trailer for Carpool. Have a look, and then you can download (or stream) my chat with Robert directly below the vid…

Here now is my chat with Robert Llewellyn… Hope you enjoy…

Download “A Bit of a Chat with Ken Plume & Robert Llewellyn“:

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February 9, 2009
A Bit Of A Chat with Ken Plume & Craig McCracken

I’m Ken Plume, and soon you’ll be listening to “A Bit Of A Chat” with me, Ken Plume.

In this episode, I’m having a bit of a chat with the creator of The Powerpuff Girls and Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends, Craig McCracken.

The 10th anniversary of the launch of Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup’s crime-fighting adventures has just been celebrated with the DVD release of Powerpuff Girls: The Complete Series which comes, interestingly enough, just as Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends wraps up its run with an extended finale.

You can read my original interview with Craig HERE.

Here now is my chat with Craig McCracken”¦ Hope you enjoy”¦

Download “A Bit of a Chat with Ken Plume & Craig McCracken“:

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January 29, 2009
A Bit Of A Chat with Ken Plume & Ernest Borgnine

I’m Ken Plume, and soon you’ll be listening to “A Bit Of A Chat” with me, Ken Plume.

In this episode, I’m having a bit of a chat with acting legend Ernest Borgnine.

Really, to describe his career is pretty much just listing some of the finest, most memorable pictures of the last 50 years, including From Here To Eternity, Flight Of the Phoenix, Ice Station Zebra, The Dirty Dozen, The Wild Bunch, The Poseidon Adventure, Escape From New York, and the film that won him a Best Actor Oscar, Marty.

And let us not forget his four season run as Lt. Cmdr. Quinton McHale in McHale’s Navy.

His autobiography, Ernie, is now available, and Turner Classic Movies premieres the all-new special Private Screenings: Ernest Borgnine, featuring an in-depth conversation hosted by Robert Osborne, at 8pm EST on Monday January 26th, followed by a selection of films from his long career.

Even at 92, Ernest Borgnine is still sharp as a tack, feisty, and working.

Here now is my chat with Ernest Borgnine… Hope you enjoy…

Download “A Bit of a Chat with Ken Plume & Ernest Borgnine“:

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January 26, 2009
Trailer Park: Emma Stone

By Christopher Stipp

The Archives, Right Here

I’m awesome. I wrote a book. It’s got little to do with movies. Download and read “Thank You, Goodnight” right HERE for free.

And now, you can follow me on Twitter. Find me here, my oh so original name on the thing is Stipp so come on and follow my stray ramblings. The nice thing you should know is that I don’t machine gun blast with the number of tweets I put out there, I’m fairly mellow….

As well, pick up the latest Geek Monthly magazine. I have an article profiling the antics of Kevin Pereira and Olivia Munn on Attack of the Show. You’ll only be able to witness my greatness or awfulness, depending on where you fall on the issue, for another week or so before I’m whisked off the shelf and replaced with next month’s issue.

I dig being a part of the Screen Geeks podcast. For every week they have me on it’s nice to be able and actually verbalize what has been richocheting off in my head all week when it comes to what is the latest in film; it’s cathartic in a way.

I know there are a megaton of podcasts devoted to what’s happening in film but how many of them have me in them? Only one, friends. If you have an inkling to listen to the lastest ramblings of a non-drunken idiot please give this a spin online or download it for your audio pleasure. This episode is devoted to the worst films of 2008 and it was an episode that just left me angry. Talking about what was wrong in cinema last year could only enrage a person and indeed it did. Hopefully some people will check it out and enjoy the Ray Romano-ish voice stylings of yours truly. As well, where else could you find Keifer Sutherland attacking a Christmas tree in a true drunken rage? In real life. It’s great.

[display_podcast]

THE ROCKER INTERVIEW

This movie was damn terrible. It really was a painful experience to have to sit through this film. Strangulation by a plastic Ralph’s bag would provide for more entertainment than I got out of this beast.

No knock to Jason Sudeikis, because this is the honest truth, but his parts in this film were the best thing about this motion picture. He’s a witty dude and knew how to make something out of his cliched, tired old character that we’ve seen dozens of times in pop culture. The other bright light was the light and airy Emma Stone. Quickly surpassing her peers as the go-to gal as a funny lady who can hold her own against her comedic male foils (Superbad being one, natch). Much like Sudeikis, she isn’t given much to do and that’s another crime that, thankfully, was punished by audiences everywhere unlucky enough to witness this waste of everyone’s time.

This interview, which I have been holding onto like a Bob Dole’s Bic ballpoint, in a messianic death grip of sorts because I wanted *something* positive to come out of this experience, was even plagued by disaster: it was a roundtable. You had your usual suspects of film writers in the valley descend to a swanky hotel in Phoenix to talk to this native Arizonian, Lord knows I would have come down with food poisioning had I known that before I showed up (I’m still smarting from bailing on the Seann William Scott roundtable for ROLE MODELS but I’m not regretting having to parse through everyone else’s quotes just to get my stuff out of there) but oddly enough there was a representative from Spawn.com. For those who don’t know or are unfamiliar, Spawn is a comic book franchise built on the ginormous ego and talent of Todd McFarlane. I don’t begrudge the local boy (his empire squarely rests in a local suburb in Arizona) from doing what he does, I interviewed him to boot, but go ahead and look at the man’s site. It’s about Todd. All about Todd. I have no clue why I was jockeying for questions with a rep for Spawn.com but it is what it is and it’s why I really don’t like to be reminded of how bad I suck whenever I do a roundtable.

THE ROCKER is coming out on DVD next Tuesday. And I hear that every purchase comes with a zip tie that you can fasten around your neck just in case you get too despondent after realizing you rented, or worse, purchased this film. For those brazen enough to actually wade through this interview I hope you see that even though there might be some harbored feelings that I genuinely, homogeneously suck at doing interviews I don’t stray afield into the land of Insipidness as some of these people. Be thankful…

QUESTION: What was it like watching the movie with an audience? Did you get to do that before?

[Ed. note – Yeah, these guys are really bringing the heat right out of the gate.]

EMMA STONE: It was awesome. This was the second time I’ve seen it with an audience. The first time was CineVegas which was the film festival in Vegas but this was so cool because it’s my home town. It’s cool to be at the Esplanade. It was fun.

QUESTION: It was cool to be at the Esplanade?

[Ed. note – Fuck…me. Seriously? A follow up to this shitty question?]

STONE: Houston’s. Morton’s. It was great.

QUESTION: Do you have any resemblance to your character? Your character in the movie described yourself as kind of punk. Based on what I read, you like Beetles and Simon and Garfunkel, is there any sort of musical resemblance to you two?

STONE: No. That’s what I liked about it. She felt different than me. She’s not a smiler and looks at the dark side of things more often and I’m a little more silver lining in my life so that’s what kind of drew me to it ““ especially in a comedy. Finding a character like that in a comedy that is so sardonic ““ a challenge of not smiling and not cracking jokes”¦

QUESTION: Did you have to do a lot of research?

STONE: Not really. She’s just a creation ““ she’s not too dark ““ she’s very teenage ““ teenage angst. I learned to play base ““ that was a big part of it because that’s where she puts all her passion.

QUESTION: Did you pick it up pretty quickly?

STONE: Yeah. Relatively quickly. I went to bass lessons everyday in Toronto but I learned all the songs for the movie and just practiced until I had it down.
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QUESTION: Do you play another instrument?

STONE: I dabble ““ not well no. I played a bit of guitar, a bit of piano.

QUESTION: But you sing? You are musically inclined.

STONE: Yeah. In a sense, but I’m by no means a musician by trade. I will not be making an album.

QUESTION: How much free reign did you guys have with the script? Jason Sudeikis would come on screen and just fire off stuff ““ like there’s no way all that stuff was scripted.

STONE: Yeah. The majority of Jason’s stuff was improved. There were hysterical things he said and did that were not scripted and he had us dying. I’ve been really lucky to have a bit more reign like in House Bunny and Superbad ““ this one was quick ““ we knocked it out pretty quick ““ two lines I wrote for this movie but that’s about it. That was my free reign.

QUESTION: At least you had a little something.

STONE: Yeah, it was great. Amelia is not too funny by any means. She’s not really coming up jokes all the time so what was scripted was good.

QUESTION: Did you guys rehearse for this?

STONE: Yes, we did. All the band. Absolutely. We needed to have the camaraderie of the band so about two weeks before we started shooting we rehearsed as a band in a big empty warehouse in Toronto. Pretty much every day.

QUESTION: Were you a temporary little band?

STONE: We were a temporary little band.

QUESTION: Did Rainn have to learn to play drums too? He looked natural on screen but you could tell”¦.

STONE: Yes. He had a drum coach named Stu and he was hysterical and picking up chicks all over the place.

(Laughs)

QUESTION: So the movie was about him?

STONE: Yeah ““ the movie was about Stu. No, No, he was awesome. He taught Rainn how to do drum fills because you can’t really fake drum fills so Rainn practiced his ass off and Walter, his son who looks exactly like him ““ looks like Rainn in that poster, wants to be a drummer, so he passed it on to his child. He had to really learn and buckle down.

QUESTION: Do you think he might do a show out here?

STONE: Hopefully. Rainn and Walter together. Drumming it up.

QUESTION: Coincidentally there is a metal punk band out here called ADD.

STONE: Are you serious?

QUESTION: Totally serious.

[Ed. note – Just shoot me. Please]

STONE: Who knew?

QUESTION: I did.

[Ed. note – Aaaand that makes this guy a douche bag for bringing it up.]

QUESTION: What was it like making a movie like Superbad and Rocker without being 21? Everybody else party without you or how did that go?

STONE: Um, well Superbad was ““ oh man, I was 17. Chris who played Fogell was 17, Michael was 18, Jonah was over 21 but they are not really partiers as they say so it wasn’t too bad. And the Rocker ““ Teddy was young and I was young and I’m not really big on the scene so it wasn’t too bad.

QUESTION: Keep out of the tabloids that way.

STONE: No complaints there.

CHRISTOPHER STIPP: You started your career locally here in Arizona, you moved from Scottsdale to Los Angeles and obviously you got a big break with Superbad and House Bunny and now The Rocker. How is life been as a working actress now that you seem to be on an ascent of sorts?

STONE: Different than it was the first 3 years I was in LA and not a working actress. There is a lot of rejection for many years. I convinced my parents to let me move out there when I as 15 and you can probably imagine what it was like. I was not really working and I should have been in high school and I was just auditioning and auditioning and nothing was happening so I’m incredibly grateful at this point that this much has happened and I don’t have a job lined up next.

But as a working actor that is just what comes with the territory, so you never know after movie. Working actor. But, I’m not really working right now. It’s interesting.

CS: How did you convince your parents to let you go?

STONE: The power of my presentation. I made a PowerPoint presentation.

QUESTION: Do you still have that?

STONE: It was on a virus running computer. It’s been extracted by an IT guy at my dad’s company. So I have a loose outline ““ all the text is there.

QUESTION: What was the most funny, memorable part of making the movie on or off screen?

STONE: One night when we were shooting the arena scene at the end when we open for Vesuvius, we shot from 4:00 PM until Noon the next day so it went from light to dark to really bright and three of us hallucinated. We saw a little boy and we know we were going to talk about it later on. Maybe it was Walter running around drumming ““ yeah, who knows. It was really bizarre.

QUESTION: Did you actually get to perform in front of 20,000 people?

STONE: It was about 700 extras and then with cg they just multiplied, and multiplied, and multiplied. It wasn’t quite 20,000 but it was still pretty nerve wracking to be in front of 700 people playing base which I am sub par at.

QUESTION: So would you rather be a movie star or a rock star?

[Ed. note – Why didn’t this asshole just ask if she could be a tree what kind of tree she would be? Seriously, this is killing me.]

STONE: Oh man”¦well I don’t really know too much about either quite yet but I don’t really know how much I’ll know about rock star but it was pretty awesome to be in rock stardom for a day.

QUESTION: Have you seen the Vanity Fair shot yet?

STONE: Yes.

QUESTION: And you tell us you are not a movie star? That’s big, young Hollywood right there.

STONE: Man, it was pouring rain and 30 degrees. What you don’t know is that Olivia’s dress is completely soaked in the back. Yeah, it was sweet. I can’t believe you can’t tell that it’s raining but if you look at the background ““ that was pretty cool.

QUESTION: Who had the biggest fear of heights?

STONE: We were all just freezing and it was raining ““ we were just ready to get out of the rain.

QUESTION: You did a lot of touring in the movie, do you do much traveling as an actor?

STONE: Well, I haven’t really traveled too much for acting. We shot Superbad in LA, Rocker in Toronto, House Bunny in LA and The Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, which I just finished, in Boston. I know a lot of actors that say, “I went to New Zealand”. My roommate, Martha, who is the other girl in Superbad just went to Cape Town, South Africa and now she’s in Vancouver so she’s getting to go all over the place so hopefully I’ll get to travel more.

QUESTION: There are big name actors in the The Ghosts of Girlfriends Past movie. Were you excited about that?

STONE: Yeah. It was pretty cool. The only person I really worked with because I play a ghost and the only person I was doing scenes with was Matthew McConaughey and he’s great. He’s funny.

QUESTION: Did he keep his shirt on?

[Ed. note – This was perhaps the best question of the bunch]

STONE: Everybody always asks that! “Did he keep his shirt on” and,Â “What’s he going to be like as a Dad?” Yes”¦and great.

QUESTION: In the movie, Fish likes to rock out, anything you like to do to get pumped up before you go out to perform?

STONE: Probably drink a Red Bull or some water. There’s some seriousness going down.

QUESTION: As an out of work 15 year old actor what is the worst advice anyone gave you in LA?

STONE: Not some bad advice but some pretty bad auditions definitely. I was pretty lucky.

CS: Based on where you are now in your career, the kinds of scripts you are being offered now as opposed to 3 years ago, being a working actress, how picky are you regarding things you are looking for? Do you do things as a way to keep money coming in or can you afford to be choosy?

STONE: I, thankfully, have never had the mentality that I have to do this because I need the money for this. I have to find aspects that I would love to be able to do it. However, the next script I do, I absolutely have to love it or I will go crazy. I’m going to hold out as long as I absolutely have to and it probably won’t be a studio comedy. I think I’m excited to get into the more human and relatable the better ““ like Harold and Maude ““ I love that stuff.

It taught me so much in my life. I would like to be able to do that for other people. So the next thing that comes along that makes me feel the way those movies made me feel, that’s what I’d like to do.

QUESTION: You have a lot of fans in the comic book industry”¦

[Ed. note – Woah! Guess which guy asked that question?]

STONE: Seriously? I didn’t know that.

[Ed. note – She didn’t know that because we were all pretty sure it wasn’t true.]

QUESTION: So I guess any kind of comic book related movie is not a part of what you are looking for in the future?

[Ed. note – This was one of those awkward red carpet/Tiki Barber moments but it was in full living color.]

STONE: No. Not necessarily. That would be awesome. I know there is some graphic novel that they are making soon that sounds pretty cool. There is some cool stuff coming up ““ The Jetsons. But that’s a cartoon. Why comic books?

QUESTION: Because you are a hot chick.

[Ed. note – Douche bag. Seriously, it’s this kind of shit that makes every Internet “journalist” suspect as skeevy wretches.]

STONE: Man, that is so funny. I had no idea.

QUESTION: Any character you can think of maybe?

[Ed. note – Akward moment #2]

STONE: I would have loved to have played Mary Jane. That would have been really cool.

QUESTION: What makes you an Arizona girl? What have you brought from Arizona to LA?

STONE: It’s hard because I’m really bad with the heat. Growing up in Arizona I really struggled with the heat. So I guess I just stayed inside and watched movies. So all those movies just came with me and continued on. Who knows, if it wasn’t so hot out I wouldn’t have stayed in and watched movies so”¦.

QUESTION: There are some really interesting one line pick up lines in the movie. Can you remember any that you received?

STONE: I don’t really get pick up lines.

QUESTION: Are you a fan of The Office?

STONE: Yes. That was one of the main reasons I wanted to be involved in The Rocker for sure. He’s just hysterical and Fish is so different than Dwight so it was fun to see him branch out into that territory. Because Dwight is not crazy at all.

QUESTION: When he was the naked drummer did you get to see more of him than the audience got to see?

STONE: No, that was a closed set and I was reacting to nothing. I was reacting to the idea of him being naked on screen. But it worked out.

January 23, 2009