There's a point to all this. But first it requires some background. Perhaps quite a bit of it. I have a bizarre and scary-good record of recommending actors when they're little known -- in some cases, virtually unknown, even to me -- and then having them go on to success, on some occasions becoming big stars. Sometimes, even I don't know much about them myself, but I'll make the suggestion just from a photo and some research. Though this odd skill had regularly surfaced even earlier, I first noticed it in the very-practical world 20 years ago when a writer friend was morose because he had a green-lit studio film with a star and director all signed, but no female lead. And if they couldn't hire someone within weeks, the whole project would fall apart. The demands of the role were difficult to cast, which was the problem. I hadn't read the script, and said I'd love to. He sent it to me, and I called up with a "You know who'd be good in this?" suggestion. Someone I think had only done two movies -- one a very small part -- and my friend had never heard of her. Neither had the director, when her name was forwarded on. But they rented the movies, loved her, recommended her to the studio who approved her, and the film got made. (For a specific reason, I'm leaving out the names.) Probably the most notable example, though, came a dozen years back or so. A friend was making a TV pilot for NBC and needed to cast the father. I suggested a small, supporting actor on a basic cable show. My friend liked everything I said about the guy, including his Second City background, but knew that the network would never hire an unknown to be the star of a series. So, they went with someone else, and the show did get on the air. A few years later, however, my suggestion was hired for a few bigger supporting roles, and eventually Steve Carell got big enough to have his own show, too. On another project, we submitted a long list of young actresses to a production company. The company vetoed half of them as being of no interest. I got so annoyed at the exclusion of one young actress that for the next eight months I kept nagging the producer about how idiotic the company was and that we should keep including the actress in our submissions because she was great and here's why. Eventually, my yammering wore him down, he became convinced, and even though she was now a "rejected name" we again started to included Anne Hathaway on our submissions. Another time, I was doing some research on some casting matter, and came across a British actress I knew absolutely zero about -- she had done nothing in the U.S. -- but I liked everything about her. She was far too unknown for the producer I was working with, but I still said we should keep an eye on on. Her name was Gemma Arterton. A year later she was a Bond girl in Quantum of Solace, then the female lead in Prince of Persia, and last year starred in Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters. (Just yesterday, a friend who knew my history with this sent me a news item that she was just signed to star in a musical on London's West End.) One of my favorite tales came about when watching the not very-interesting mini-series version of The Prisoner. In fact, I even stopped watching most of it. But there was a day-player who only had about 90 seconds of screen time and three lines of dialogue. Virtually a throwaway part. But I wrote to a producer I was working with that this actresses was amazingly talented and gorgeous, even in just 90 seconds, and though I knew he couldn't offer a role to a total unknown, we should at least keep her in mind. Her name was Hayley Atlwell. The next year, she had the female lead in the Starz epic mini-series, The Pillars of the Earth. A couple years later was the female lead in Captain America, She's currently filming Cinderalla as Cinderalla's mother for Kenneth Branagh, and upcoming is in the next Avengers movie. And will be re-creating her character from Captain America to star in a new series about her on ABC. (She's also done a ton of film work in England, though unknown here. She's great.) Side note: a couple years later, I brought her up again -- I love Hayley Atwell -- and one of the producers on the project dismissed her as still much too unknown. The next year, he had left the project. And a while later signed Hayley Atwell for his new film. (Though it fell through.) Another favorite example is that a project needed a young French actress for a secondary role. I knew nothing at all of that, so I just started doing research. From that online research only, no film, I came across a French actress who I'd never seen or heard of and recommended her, Lea Seydoux. The next year, she played the Parisian bookseller who Owen Wilson ends up falling in love with in Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris. Then she was hired for Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, and this year was in The Grand Budapest Hotel. She's currently filming The Lobster as the third lead opposite Farrell Rachel Weisz. There are a whole bunch of others, some particularly notable, but there's a limit to how truly annoying I think I should get. (And none of this includes writing about the obscure, goofy song "Chicken Fat" a year before Apple used it in an international TV campaign...) But I'll add just one more, since it's the point of what got me to think about all this. About six years ago, a producer friend was developing a film comedy that required a British comedian for a sports-related story. I brought up the name of someone who I said probably wasn't right, but added that he was hilarious, so much so that he could probably transcend what was needed. However, he had only just started on a basic cable show in an extremely small role, and the producer had utterly no idea who he was -- like most of America, or likely England either. So I contacted a friend on the cable show to put together a demo reel on the guy. The movie project didn't go forward, but the fellow's name was John Oliver. Which (finally...) brings us to the point. Here is a quite-wonderful 16 minutes from last Sunday's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, where he vivaciously takes on Dr. Oz and the diet supplement industry.
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I mention my friend and cabaret performer Shelly Goldstein here periodically (like this morning...), so I wanted to note her appearance today -- Monday, March 31 -- on Clifford Bell's video podcast. It's first airing is at 2 PM (Los Angeles time).
It's an hour-long interview, filled with at least half a dozen (probably more) videos of her singing Just clear here to watch. The show isn't a live broadcast, so if you miss it, you can check it out anytime after 3 PM anyhoo. I often mention my pal Mark Evanier, and if you've never ventured to his great website here (and why not??), it is short-hand to note that of all the people they could have hired to write a new, four-part comic book series of the classic Rocky and Bullwinkle, they chose Mark. (Yes, he's done so much more, but this is short-hand.) It will be illustrated by Roger Langridge.
One of the questions one always has whenever anything is being adapted that is so beloved by many is whether they'll "get it right." When you get Mark for something that even just touches the world of cartoons, most especially for Rocky and Bullwinkle, you can rest assured that they will. This is an enjoyable interview with them about it. Just click here. I enjoy watching the Super Bowl. And not just the commercials, but the game itself. But I've grown to love the Puppy Bowl. I accidentally saw the first one, and this is now Puppy Bowl X. If you don't know it, the Puppy Bowl is on Animal Planet which runs during the actual game as counter-programming. (It starts at 3 PM, Los Angeles time.) But if you miss it because no one at your Super Bowl party wants to switch channels, know that you can always record it to watch later -- or they rerun it three times after the initial airing, so it's on Animal Planet much of the day. Basically, the Puppy Bowl is nothing more than a bunch of puppies running around a tiny, "football stadium" with a bunch of play toys, stuffed football and hidden "water bowl cam" underneath, so you can watch the puppies slurp. There's a play-by-play announcer and even a referee who pops in every once in a while. Halfway through, they have the Kitty Half-time Show, where they bring out fluffy kittens. It's fun, and a nice twist, though I find the puppies more rambunctious and fun. They keep expanding the Puppy Bowl with little tweaks, and this year they have announced penguin cheerleaders and the Keyboard Kat Halftime Show. Animal Planet goes all out with the thing. They have the Starting Lineups on the website, a Hall of Fame, even a Fantasy Draft and more. You can find it all here. It's not for everyone (as you can imagine), but even watching for just a minute is a joy. But me, I get hooked watching and find it an endearing hoot. Following a brief commercial, here's a video of "highlights" from a previous Puppy Bowl. The Writers Guild of America Awards are this evening (Saturday) and will be webcast online with host Brad Garrett. The ceremony itself starts at 6 PM (Los Angeles time), but the webcast coverage begins at 5 PM, with a "Meet the Writers" event at 5:30.
Doing a bit of checking, it appears that the direct link to the webcast is here. If you check in a little early, they have a five-minute video of highlights from previous awards ce No password is needed to watch, it will just be an open live stream. I'm a bit uncertain about the exact online address for all this, since I've been given different information. But I suspect the safest best is to click here -- it's being hosted through the Los Angeles Times website -- and if the show is streaming on this page, they'll have a link there where clicking through will take you to the show. (If you might be interested in watch, best to simply click that link above now and bookmark it for tomorrow.) Just in case, here is another L.A. Times page that may have the broadcast or will get you there. The confusion is that the link above is the one the WGA sent out. But it goes to a news story on the Los Angeles Times about the awards show. The article, however, has a separate link here that takes you to their Envelope page, where they say the webcast will be. At the moment, though, there are just a lot of entertainment news stories and videos, and no streaming, so it's hard to be sure what gives. I suspect the webcast will be on this "second" link, and is the direct one. But either link should get you to the show. Again, the WGA Awards starts at 6 PM (Los Angeles time) with pre-game festivities starting at 5 PM. If you love awards shows and just can't get enough of them -- or if you love good writing -- here's one more for you that's upcoming.
Tomorrow (Saturday), the Writers Guild of America is having its annual awards, and it will be webcast online. This is the second year that they've made the show available online to the general public. I watched a bit last year, and it was reasonably fun. There was something charming about it being so un-slick, though they do a reasonable job. To be clear, there aren't all that many celebrities, but they do have celebrity presenters -- and the host is Brad Garrett. There's a good chance that you won't recognize a single award winner, but it might be fun for some folks to hear what the people who write your favorite shows and movies have to say. My big quibble with the WGA Awards is that 90% of them are for TV, rather than feature film. That's less of an issue when watching online than it was on the two times I've gone to the event as a guest. You're stuck there for TV award after TV award. (Nothing against television, just that as a Guild member I'd like to see more balance.) When watching online, though, you have more distractions than a plate of food. The pre-show coverage will begin at 5 PM (Los Angeles time), followed at 5:30 by "Meet the Writers," which will be interviews with some of the nominees. The ceremony itself then starts at 6 PM. No password is needed to watch, it will just be an open live stream. I'm a bit uncertain about the exact online address for all this, since I've been given different information. But I suspect the safest best is to click here -- it's being hosted through the Los Angeles Times website -- and if the show is streaming on this page, they'll have a link there where clicking through will take you to the show. (If you might be interested in watch, best to simply click that link above now and bookmark it for tomorrow.) Just in case, here is another L.A. Times page that may have the broadcast or will get you there. The confusion is that the link above is the one the WGA sent out. But it goes to a news story on the Los Angeles Times about the awards show. The article, however, has a separate link here that takes you to their Envelope page, where they say the webcast will be. At the moment, though, there are just a lot of entertainment news stories and videos, and no streaming, so it's hard to be sure what gives. I suspect the webcast will be on this "second" link, and is the direct one. But either link should get you to the show. Again, the WGA Awards starts at 6 PM (Los Angeles time) with pre-game festivities starting at 5 PM. |
AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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