An Interview with Anna Faris

The first thing that many people think of when they hear Anna Faris’ name is her work in often ridiculous and entertaining comedies such as “The Hot Chick”, “The House Bunny”, and of course, the “Scary Movie” series, which put her on the map. In between the rated R humor and the bizarre characters, she has done television (“Friends”), supporting roles in award-winning indies (“Lost in Translation” and “Brokeback Mountain”) and conventional romantic comedies (including last year’s “What’s Your Number?”) 

My all-time favorite role of hers is the overwhelmed stoner Jane in the underappreciated “Smiley Face”, which has to be one of the most impressive comic performances of the 2000s. A tale of a aimless woman who tries to replace the pot that her roommate had used for baking treats that goes from humorous to beyond bizarre, Faris was not afraid to go all out for this role. (Highlights include attending an audition while still really high and being stuck on a Ferris wheel.) This movie also includes John Krasinski, Adam Brody, John Cho, with pre-“Glee” Jamya Mays and Jane Lynch. Go rent this movie when you get the chance. 

 Faris, who appears in Sacha Baron Cohen’s “The Dictator”, talked with The DePaulia on the controversy surrounding her new movie, how she chooses her roles, and what it was like to grow armpit hair for this movie.

DP: Did you have any reservations about working on his movie, given Cohen’s controversial reputation in comedy?

Faris: I feel like I’ve been a part of so many offensive comedies that I’m a little numb to it.  I don’t think I ever really get offended, but every time I take a role, I start worrying about my mom and what she’s going to think because she’s pretty conservative.  She always wants me to play someone like Amelia Earhart. And I’m like, ‘oh, is this the kind of thing that I have to tell her to avoid or not?’

     And then, I guess it didn’t occur to me at the time, but Sasha, when we were like one day during shooting, he mentioned that he had like some fatwas against him, or something along those lines.  And I would say, ‘Wait, what?’  And he was like, ‘Yes, there’s all these like jihadists that are really upset with him for Borat and Bruno.’ And then it occurred to me, like, ‘Wait a minute, this could potentially be like a kind of a dangerous project to be a part of.’ But so far, we’re all still here.

The DePaulia: If you could show this movie to one person in the world and only that one person, who would it be and why?

Anna Faris: Oh, if I could show it to one person and why, I think I have to go with Keenan Ivory Wayans.  He is very dear to my heart.  He gave me my first break in “Scary Movie.”  And I know that he would really appreciate it– he loves humor that offends everybody equally.  So I would love to – I’d love for him to see this.  I’d love to be in the screening room as he watched it.

DP: This is Sasha Baron Cohen’s first movie with the use of a script. Were you guys still able to improvise on set or did you guys stick to the script all the way through?

Faris in a scene from "The Dictator",
in theatres May 16

Faris: No, it was very, very loose.  It was a little bit of a learning curve for me.  It was unlike pretty much any filming like process I had ever gone through before.  I really didn’t know where a scene was going to go.  We had a script and we would do the scripted version a couple of times.  And then, the writers and Sasha would collaborate.  And then, next thing you know, you would be headed in a completely different direction. So it forced you to really stay on your toes, which was hard, but also, an exciting challenge for an actor. 

DP: What is your favorite part of performing comedy?

Faris: It’s made me be able to laugh at myself a lot easier. I think I used to take myself very seriously. There’s also the reward of when you sneak into a theater, which I rarely do, because it just scares me so much.  But when I do, I hear other people laughing at the movie. It feels amazing. It’s amazing to give people joy and to be a part of a hugely challenging process as well.

DP: What do you look for when you are looking at roles?

Faris: I look for interesting characters. For “The Dictator”, I was really excited to work with Sasha. I had been such a fan of this for a long time, so it was a thrill to be involved in one of his movies. I feel really fortunate that I’ve been able to do a variety of different characters, and I hope that continues.

DP: I have an odd question. If you and your husband (Chris Pratt, or Andy on “Parks and Recreation”) start a family, would you ever consider being more selective in your roles for the sake of your (theoretical) children? Or would you continue to choose roles like Cindy Campbell (“Scary Movie”) or Jane (“Smiley Face”)?

Faris: I don’t think I would ever want to. I know it sounds awful, but I don’t think I’d ever want to choose my roles for the sake of my children.  I mean, I guess if there’s an inappropriate movie, maybe I don’t let them see it.

     I think that I had to have that conversation with my mom a little while back.  I told her, “I’m not going to make my movie choices because I’m worried about what you’ll think”, which I still am worried about what she thinks, but I just had to vocalize that.

DP: What was the strangest thing you had to do for a movie?

Faris: For “The Dictator,” I had to grow up my arm pit hair, which was a new experience for me. And I was very naïve about it. They asked me if I would do it, because they said they could put some hair – glue some hair on me.  And I was like, no, no, no, I’ll totally do it.

And I was sort of thinking that maybe (the hair) would grow kind of thin and wispy, and maybe even kind of cute. But that was not the case. It was dark and thick. It defined my whole summer. No tank tops, no swimsuits, I couldn’t hail a cab. At a party, if I’d had a drink or two, I would lift my shirt and show off my arm pit hair.  And it made people gag.  It was amazing.  #

The Dictator, starring Sasha Baron Cohen and Anna Faris, hits theatres May 16.

THE AVENGERS Review

Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) mentions at one point in “The Avengers” (now in theatres, finally) that the world sometimes needs something old-fashioned. Despite having the largest group of superheroes ever assembled on the big screen, top-of-the line GCI effects, cinematography, editing, directing and writing by master storyteller Joss Whedon, and a remarkable cast of actors behind the larger-than-life characters, this is an old-fashioned blockbuster.

A review for the one of the biggest movies in recent memory is probably not necessary for those who have already seen the movie (or plan to see it). So I will make my case for those who are not into superhero movies. You don’t have be a devoted follower of all these character or even a Marvel fan to enjoy this blockbuster. I have never picked up a copy of Captain America or Iron Man in my life. But I have enjoyed the film adaptations and what Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. have brought to their respective roles.

The spirit of “The Avengers” is old-fashioned. You have bad guys (led by Loki) who want to take over Earth. You have the good guys (led by Nick Fury) who need to get their stuff together before they can fight the bad guys. Chaos ensues. Egos are bruised. Someone gets very, very angry. “The Avengers” is a great time at the movies. It’s not going to make you question your faith in your favorite superhero, like what Christopher Nolan is doing with Batman. “The Dark Knight” is one of the most remarkable movies of the last decade and “The Dark Knight Rises” promises to be even more remarkable. But c’mon, isn’t a blockbuster supposed to offer an escape from real life?

“The Avengers” is more than just clashes and conquests between Marvel’s best. There are moments which reflect how these guys struggle to adapt to their new environment. Tony Stark (Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr.) and Steve Rogers (Captain America, Chris Evans) go head-to-head. “Suit up, let’s go a few rounds,” says Captain America, determined to knock Stark off his skyscraper-length pedestal.  Dr. David Banner (Mark Ruffalo) is constantly fighting back his urge to transform into “The Hulk”, going as far as being secluded in the lab where he can work to find the Tesseract, a powerful energy source that Loki has released. Natasha a.k.a. the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) has a debt to pay to Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner), who is under Loki’s mind control. Individually, they are extraordinarily talented experts in their crafts. Together, they are going to tear each other apart unless Nick Fury and Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg, reprising his role from “Thor”) can instill some hard knocks and get them to set aside their egos to save their home planet. A job position for a mediator for a supergroup has never looked so exciting—and dangerous.

My personal favorite fighting scene (out of all of them, which includes a very-lengthy fight scene in the finale) was between Iron Man, Captain America and Thor (Chris Hemsworth), who crashes the party and tries to take Loki (Tom Hiddleston, who is a tad bit more over-the-top here than in “Thor”) back to Asgard. Thor reluctantly joins “The Avengers”, since many believe he can get through Loki and find the Tesseract. The demigod also wants to get Dr. Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard, also reprising his role from “Thor”) off the same mind control that Clint is stuck in.

Whedon is the right man for this movie. He provided each character their own arc while intertwining them into the big picture. And the man does have a way with dialogue. In one scene, Thor attempts to not go against Loki. “No matter what has happened, Loki is still my brother,” he said. “He’s killed eighty people in two days,” said Natasha. “He was adopted,” replied Thor. Captain America, who has been frozen since the second World War, gets giddy when he finally understands a reference that not even the demigod Thor knows. “I got that!” he declares. “I got it.” It’s moments like those that make “The Avengers” the ultimate summer movie to enjoy. #

A look back at Dick Clark's career

Dick Clark, often known as “America’s Oldest Teenager”, died Wednesday at the ripe old age of 82 from a heart attack.

He is often credited with legitimatizing rock ‘n’ roll music and brining the beloved music to the masses. At a time when segregation dominated American life, Clark brought many black artists, including James Brown, the Supremes, and the Temptations to the mainstream. The audience was desegregated, which infuriated many who did not want their children to mix with others who didn’t look like them.

Millions of young people danced to the songs, bought the records, and requested the songs on their favorite rock ‘n’ roll radio stations, which were at their peak in the 1950s and 1960s. Pop culture and youth culture were mixed together. For the first time, young folks had a say in what music they were going to listen and dance to.

Here are highlights from the extraordinary entertainer and media mogul’s life and career.

American Bandstand

For decades, “American Bandstand”, which began as a local afternoon program in Philadelphia, was where young people got ahold of their new music. A band or singer knew they made it when Dick Clark talked to you after a performance. Clark was a superb MC. He was comfortable and confident when talking to the performers. He made it seem too easy to chit-chat with some of the biggest names in music, often feeling like friends just stopped by to perform and talk to Clark in his living room. It’s because of Clark that countless of MCs, television personalities, disc jockeys, and others were able to go in front of an audience and emcee effortlessly.

In one of their first television appearances, the Beach Boys talk to Clark about the creative process behind songwriting, surfing, and summer plans to tour across the country.

Here Clark interviews psychedelic band Jefferson Airplane in 1967. Here he tries to ask as many questions to the band, including what would a hippie do if he was paid a large amount of money to become a “square.”

James Brown dances across the dance floor before Clark catches up with the legendary showman, who visited the studio several times over the years. Clark has to remind Brown that he’s on television and has to make sure his back isn’t facing the millions watching at home.

The American Music Awards

Clark created the American Music Awards as an alternative to the Grammy Awards, which did not recognize pop music often back in the 1970s. These awards were a popularity contest. The winners were determined by a poll of music buyers. The first awards show took place in 1973.

Dick Clark Productions

Dick Clark’s New Years Rockin’ Eve

The (New) $25,000 Pyramid

Clark won several Daytime Emmy Awards for his hosting duties on the game show “Pyramid”, which ran on CBS and ABC from 1973-1988. Like “American Bandstand”, Clark was affable and comfortable in the host’s chair.

Michael Moore’s documentary “Bowling for Columbine” (2002)

Of course, no man is perfect. When it was discovered that eating establishments owned by “America’s Oldest Teenager” were involved in the controversial “Welfare-to-Work” program created by the Clinton administration, Michael Moore attempts to confront Clark about these questionable business choices. In the Academy Award-winning documentary, a single, black mother is working over 80 hours a week while unable to pay the bills. Her son, a first-grader who is often left to fend for himself, brought a gun to school and shot a fellow student. Clark refused to talk to Moore about the issue.

Note: Video unavailable.

“American Dreams”

From 2002 to 2005, this NBC period drama showcased a Philadelphia teenage girl (Brittany Snow) who appeared as a regular on “American Bandstand” in the early 1960s. Numerous contemporary artists made guest cameos as 60s-era artists.

Dick Clark’s New Years Rockin’ Eve

In 2004, Clark suffered a stroke that left him unable to host his New Year’s Rockin’ Eve show, which he has hosted since 1974 on ABC. With his speech limited, Clark cut back his public appearances. Ryan Seacrest would take over Clark’s shoes (in more ways than one), although Clark would make a cameo appearance on the specials. Here is Clark, struggling with his speech despite having a smile on his face, counting down to greet the year 2012. There is no word yet on how ABC will proceed with the future of the special.

http://youtu.be/tIsvm-hI_P4

Check this band out: the tUnE-yArDs

the tUnE-yArDs (yes, that is how they type their name) are a fusion of just about every genre of music that you may heard or not heard of. New Englander Merill Garbus has been creating music for years under the moniker Tune-Yards. What is Tune-Yards? It's difficult to explain in mere words. It's a fusion of numerous genres and styles. Trust me, you gotta listen to "Gangsta". When you listen to it, it's both similar and unfamiliar. It's deja vu: I have heard this before but I can't put my finger on the song. Two and-a-half minutes into the song, the audio becomes distorted. One nanosecond you hear Garbus singing in the right side of the headphones (or stereo) and the lyric ends up on the left side. And vice-versa. As soon as "Gangsta" ended, I played it again. Tune-Yards will be performing at Lollapalooza this August. From the album w h o k i l l, available on tune-yards.com, iTunes and Spotify.

Here is "Gangsta"





Here is the music video for "Bizness"

Art Imitates Life: 30 Rock Returns

After a strange autumn season, during which “Community” was taken away from us and “Whitney” was allowed to stay (I have a bizarre theory that an exec fumbled on the spot when the moment of decision arrived during a programming meeting. “Whitney!” he said. “Wait, I thought you said which show we didn’t want back.”), I was looking forward for Liz Lemon and Company to return. On a bittersweet note, they now occupy Jeff and the gang’s timeslot.

I was looking forward to “30 Rock” even more after the death of Kim Jong Il. To quickly summarize, his son, who is now the new guy in charge of the Hermit Kingdom, was married to Jack’s wife Avery (Elizabeth Banks, who is humorous even posing for a Christmas card early on in the episode) after she was kidnapped. This surprise change in casting now makes Avery the First Lady of North Korea. This makes Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) very depressed.

But since Kim’s death occurred after the first few episodes were created, this dilemma has to be aside for awhile. The big dilemma at the moment involves Tina Fey’s Liz Lemon. Why is she so happy? She no longer tries to please egomaniacs Tracy Jordan and Jenna Maroney (Tracy Morgan and Jane Krakowski, respectively). It turns out that she has a new side gig as a jazz dancer for WNBA games, after Tracy mistakes her for becoming a crack addict.

Jenna is a guest judge on “America’s Kidz Got Singing”, a musical competition that has become Jack’s surprise hit but it comes at a price. Her judging skills would be too cruel for Simon Cowell to use. “That was good—if you were trying to make me commit suicide,” she blurts out in front a girl, who looked like a kindergartener (these scenes are funnier if you watch it).

Everyone becomes concerned, even frightened, at the sight of a happy Liz Lemon. “I made you laugh,” boasts Kenneth (Jack McBrayer), who claims he has spent six years trying to accomplish this task. Speaking of Kenneth, I did not enjoy his story, in which he believed that the world was ending the following day and he kept telling people in which specific hell they would be heading for. It reminded me of those evangelicals (or that irritating-as-hell man right outside the Old Navy in downtown, damning people on his second-rate microphone.) who judge and condemn strangers and implant fear into their followers and money out of their wallets. However, I did like the fact that he had a list of dream chores, which included reorganizing the snack table and getting a piece of gum off the ceiling.

“Liddy, thank you for coming in,” Jack says, greeting his infant daughter. “I know you have to read your book with Sleepy Bear in half an hour, so I’ll make this brief.” In the episode’s best scene, Jack attempts to rationalize “Kidz” success to his daughter, mentioning to her that the world is unjust and sometimes emotions can’t get in the way of being a success story. Jack needs “Kidz” to gain big ratings and revenue. (Just like real-life NBC desperately needs a cash cow.) But at what cost? Kids are crying on-camera by Jenna’s vicious yet strangely humorous remarks. Liddy asks for “mommy”, which Jack mistakes for “money”. “You want money,” he asks. “I want money too!”

Emma Stone. The coolest woman in the world.

This season, art imitates life throughout the show. Of course the show will deal with Kim’s death and what happens next for Avery. Tracy Jordan will make an anti-gay slur, during which Liz Lemon will call him an idiot, inadvertently offending the Idiot community. Both GLBT and Idiot activists are protesting outside 30 Rock. And Liz has another reason why she’s in a good mood. (Hint: A recurring male guest star) Many, many guest stars will appear. Even Emma Stone is going to be there, but only in a short scene for an upcoming movie Jenna co-stars in. I want to go to there and see Emma anyway.

Are You There, Comedy? It's Me, Someone Who Wants Good Funny, Not Bad Funny

Laura Prepon: You deserve better comedy roles

During NBC’s forum at last week’s Television Critics Association press tour, a place where the networks attempt to sway TV critics with their hopes and dreams for the remainder of the TV season (I was in creative writing class, so I couldn’t go. Also I am not a “professional” TV critic, so that’s also why I wasn’t there.), Bob Greenblatt didn’t hesitate to acknowledge how far the once-mighty Peacock network had fallen. “We had a really bad fall—worse than I hoped, but about what I expected,” he said, possibly in a mournful tone. When the head of entertainment programming says that, you know his network is in trouble.

This is probably why NBC was very cheerful when “Are You There, Chelsea?” pulled in over 6 million viewers for the pilot on January 11. That’s more viewers than the beloved “Community” and “Parks and Recreation” receive; two comedies so much better in quality, casting/acting, and writing; than this desperate attempt to cash in on the ever-growing popularity of comedian Chelsea Handler.

In the pilot, Chelsea Newman (Laura Prepon) has been charged with a DUI. While in lockup, she promises to vodka (“Are you there, vodka? It’s me, Chelsea?”, which was once the name of the show) that she will change her life around if she gets out of this mess. Her plan is to get an apartment that is 115 steps away from her job at a sports bar. (“If you can’t finish your drinks, our waitress will.”) Her roommate is Dee Dee (Lauren Lapkus), a sweet-yet-strange woman who becomes the designated “weirdo” character. She wears clothes that cover most of her body, is a virgin saving herself for marriage, and does not drink or offend—in other words, the anti-Chelsea. Also, Lapkus has a pair of large eyes ready to pop out of her head, just like Amanda Seyfried. I couldn’t stop focusing on that, which meant I couldn’t concentrate on her performance. Or maybe I am bad TV critic, which is why I wasn’t invited to that fancy press tour.

One pet peeve of mine is that I can’t stand laugh tracks. It’s so bad that I can’t even watch a rerun of old-school sitcoms with the canned laughter. There is canned laughter here. “No!” I said. “You can’t make me laugh and believe that line is funny.” Like clockwork, the canned laughter arrives to irritate me.

Line
“Funny” Line
Canned laughter
Line
Line
“Funny” Line
Canned laughter
“Funnier” Line
Canned laughter
Someone slightly famous enters scene
Applause
Line
"Funny" line
Canned laughter


I did have my reservations about the show before watching, particularly the source of the material. I must admit I was once a big fan of Handler, having discovered her books “Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea?” and “My Horizontal Life” while living in Florida years ago. (The books, along with her stand-up, is the primary source of the show) It was one of the few times I had laughed out loud from reading a book. I even watched her show “Chelsea Lately” on a semi-regular basis. But her routine did grow old for me and I went back to “The Daily Show”.

I couldn’t resist passing up this show, though. After all, there was talk and previews since last summer. The cast changes even made it as news. It looked promising. It looked better than “Whitney”. (And that’s not tough to do.) And Laura Prepon (Donna from “That 70s’ Show”) is a pretty good comic actress who should definitely be in more high-profile roles, like movies, something Handler is now entering.

Handler herself appears in the pilot, but she is portraying Sloane, Prepon’s judgmental sister who is tired of bailing her out of every dilemma. It was strange to watch Handler attempt to not be herself on a show with her name in the show’s title. I was waiting for her to take off that wig she was sporting, pour herself a double Belvedere, and start trashing “Jersey Shore” or Mitt Romney.

While she gets a few funny lines and seems game for anything, Prepon deserves more than being a younger stand-in for an overexposed celebrity. Maybe Dan Harmon can create a role for her where she’s Pierce’s long-lost daughter or involved in a love triangle with Troy and Abed. Or she can be Andy Dwyer’s Burt Macklin’s new crime-fighting partner, Ann Perkins’s old high school nemesis-turned-new co-worker at City Hall, or be involved in a love triangle with Chris Traeger and Ron Swanson (or all these roles in both shows). #

New Track from The Shins

It has been five years since The Shins released an album (and eight years since they changed Natalie Portman's character life in Garden State). In between Wincing the Night Away (2007) and Port of Morrow (due out March 20), everyone but singer-songwriter James Mercer left the band. Mercer wrote and recorded the track, "Simple Song", which is pretty good.