Thirsty Thursday

“Acceptable TV” ran for exactly one season on VH1 last spring. During its time on the air, it managed to be somehow hilarious and fresh, despite (or because) of it’s mini-episodes within the show.

One of the players on the program was the terrific and hilarious Jen Kirkman. The following is the lengthy version of an article I wrote for the campus paper here in St. Cloud. She supplied a boatload of great answers and insights into the show and the life of a comedian, so I thought it was worthy of an uncut “Q&A”:

Q: How did you end up on the show

A:The short answer is that I went in for an interview with Dan Harmon and then that night he and this other guy who is sort of the mouthpiece for Jack Black’s company came to see my one woman show and then I found out the next day that they wanted me to be “the smurfette” as they put it – in their pilot. And the way they knew about me was that a lot of the writers on the show and I have mutual friends – those mutual friends recommended me, and a few of the writers had seen my stand-up…”“…I got the feeling that their search was for someone who understood what Channel 101 was all about – someone who would not be annoying on set (by the way, I and the rest of the cast are all shit-eatingly annoying but I mean in the Hollywood actress-y way – no room for a diva) and I think they wanted someone who understood what it is/was to be/have been a nerd. We’re all from different segments of the nerd population but I think my one-woman show that I just happened to be doing around the time of my casting, “Dork Days” definitely helped.”

Anyway, we shot the pilot last year, between March and July of 2006 and found out in September of 2006 that we were picked up and then I quit my job. We didn’t start shooting until February of 2007.

That was supposed to be the short answer. The long answer I guess is that one of Dan’s associates had emailed me out of the blue wanting to know if I was interested in coming in and meeting. I was familiar with Channel 101 and the names that she was throwing around but I was working a corporate day job at the time – and since my show business involvement usually was just a one day shoot, I had to hold on to this job to make money, so I was (stupidly) reluctant to meet up at first, thinking that this opportunity would somehow get me fired from my job (for taking too much time off) and then the show wouldn’t get picked up anyway and then I’d be homeless. Looking back, that was possibly the stupidest and most dangerous attitude, but after years of nothing working out, I can’t blame myself for being entirely skeptical. Until I met with Dan and realized that this project was totally on the up and up and was being handled with such belief and passion that it was infectious. What I mean, is that I contracted a disease from that initial meeting. It’s fine now. The wonders of antibiotics. I’m going to stop trying to be funny. I hate un-funny interview answers so I’m going to just stay serious and tangential because that seems to be what I do.

Q:Is it a high-pressure environment for everybody, what with a new episode being due every week?

A:It’s not high-pressure for me. I only have to work a couple days a week and I’m not one of the writers so if a second episode of a pilot/sketch is voted back, my only job is to get the script, show up, get my hair and make-up done and act it up. Easy. It’s way high-pressure for everyone else, especially those in post-production, who only have about 2-3 days to get it all done. The animation department are pulling all-nighters multiple times a week.

Q:Are the sketches filmed every week, or is there a stockpile of sketches stored up?

A:Which brings me to this answer…we filmed about 24 sketches in advance, one a day, four days a week in February and March. This way the only new sketches we have to film in short notice, are the two that are voted back after the Friday night broadcast. We also have in the can, tons of animated pilots, but we haven’t been able to air any of them because Mr. Sprinkles is such a runaway hit – it’s on episode 6, which is also why the animators are working around the clock.

Q:are there any sketches that don’t make it onto the TV?

A:Yeah, there were a few that are going to be cut and replaced, I think. Unfortunately, America will most likely not see me in a fat suit (one of the sketches we filmed.) Mainly if something gets cut – it’s not a situation where Vh1 cans it – I think it’s more like a few things, once executed just don’t work, or don’t turn out that funny as they were in the script.

Q:Does VH1 “like” the show? Are they behind it?

A:Who knows what people like when you’re talking about a network? Which is why I assume you put “like” in quotes. I feel like I’m treading thin ice here so I’ll just say that everyone at Vh1 is rooting for it because it certainly raises the bar for them and helps take away from the stereotype that they only have exploitive and (possibly racist?) reality tv shows. There was a NY Times article recently about this and the powers that be at Vh1 were happy to point out that Acceptable TV exists – in a sea of things like “I Love NY.” Although I’m sure “New York’s” ratings are bigger. As for acting like they are behind it, there wasn’t much promotion for the show. I don’t think it was neglected in the promo sense due to some trepidation but just that since a big part of our show involves the web, I think there is expectation that the viral craze will just blow up and serve as promotion on it’s own. Did that happen? I don’t know. Luckily, I don’t have to work on the corporate side and worry about that crap.

Q:Has there been any word as to whether it’s considered successful yet (somehow I feel this is worded poorly)?

A:The website activity has exceeded expectation and Ira Glass wrote some really nice things about our show and the professional blog-world likes us, and all that sort of thing…some of the early reviews were lukewarm but as for successful in the cult status sense…I guess we’ll learn that in time.

Q:What are the possibilities of it being picked up for another season?

A:Who knows? It all depends on ratings, budget and what people are willing to agree to on both ends. I’m staying out of it because you hear different things every day.

Again, I apologize that these answers aren’t funny. My boyfriend just peaked over my shoulder to ask what I was doing (not in a dick-ish way) and he said, “Oh! I hope you’re writing funny answers!” And like I just said to him, only some people get to see my idiot goofball side – I can’t really just turn it on. I’m serious a lot of the time but not mature. If that makes sense.

Q:How do you feel about the interactive component? Is it something that excites you, what with it opening new arenas to amateurs?

A:Honestly? I don’t get thrilled about it one way or another. I suppose without the environment where anyone can submit, there wouldn’t have been a Channel 101 and Dan never would have found the amazing writers and directors that make Acceptable TV what it is, which gives me a job. BUT, you know I spend my days like a homeless person or a wild animal or neither, scrounging for the next thing so I’m often really self-focused on keeping work alive, so I’m not excited nor non-excited about opening up arenas.

Q:Do you and the other staff members hang out after a tough shoot (or just a normal one)?

A:Before filming I envisioned us in montages of various bars, amusement parks and hair salons, hanging out and living life together, in our own 12 person family at the expense of everything else in our lives. But the reality is that after a 14 hour day, I’m exhausted from all the laughing, farting, screaming, teasing, running around, sexual innuendo, throwing things, etc. that I have nothing left in me. It’s like any job where you see your co-workers more than your family and significant others and friends due to how much time you spend at work…so sometimes I just want to go be alone or something after work. I usually just go home and fall asleep so I can be up by 6 a.m. again the next day. We eat lunch together every day on set, it feels like a big day of recess. I’m always so tired when I get home – it’s the feeling you get when you spend the day at the beach and in the sun and you just get tired early but in a happy way. We do all get together every Friday night to watch the show – which is our nerdy little awesome ritual. The cast and the crew and the production side, everyone. We all get along really well and are super proud of the show – so we get together at the DP’s house and celebrate. And then during the weekends I think the writers are around each other more – finalizing the new scripts and occasionally I just text stupid messages to my other cast members when I’m bored. But I love everyone so much. I’m always hugging them and pinching their cheeks and just thinking they are all so adorable and so perfectly themselves at all times. I can’t stop laughing at everyone and reveling in their individual awesome-ness. We’re always really happy to see one another every morning and we’re very touchey feely and I love watching the boys jump in the make-up chair and get excited about the airbrushed make-up that’s applied to their faces.

Q:How do you like the amateur shorts that have been popping up on the show?

A:I think they’ve been great. Some of those people I know from around the comedy scene in L.A. but that is not how their shorts were chosen. They won out because they stuck to the rules and were hilarious.

Q:How did you like being the face of acceptable tv when it was being promoted before its premiere? (you were all over the tv)

A:I didn’t think about it either way. I actually didn’t see the promo’s – but I remember shooting them but when I was shooting them I wasn’t sure if they were going to be used on the web or on TV – so I’m still not sure what people saw, where. I was a little weirded out by it because I was afraid I’d get teased on the set, since I’m not the star of the show but part of an ensemble.

Q:Has the show gained you any new recognition?

A:Maybe I shouldn’t say this but I don’t think so! I did kind of expect a flood of Myspace friends but nothing too crazy. I have yet to have someone recognize me. Sadly, there is a huge plasma TV at my gym that is always set to Vh1 – and I’ve been working out when a repeat of the show has been on and the person on the treadmill next to me doesn’t even recognize me. I’ve been in a coffee shop, ordering a coffee, at a place where they have a plasma TV on the wall, set to vh1. I’ll be ordering the coffee while I’m on TV at the same time and still the patrons or counter person don’t recognize me. Some guy came up to me at a comedy show and said, “My friend loves you on Acceptable TV.” I said, “Wow, that’s cool.” And he said, “Well, he’s an alcoholic who doesn’t leave the house ever, because he’s too drunk to drive.”

I know I sound negative but I also live in Los Angeles, where everyone is on TV almost and most people don’t recognize each other and we can’t tell when we’re watching TV or looking out our windows. I have had some creepy guys from college email me “out of the blue” and not say why I suddenly came to mind, but I suspect it’s from the show. And friends from high school have written to say that they saw me on TV.

Q:Have you been doing stand-up much since it premiered? Do you notice an increase in audience?

A:I haven’t been doing much stand-up and it’s partially because of the early hours I have to keep to do this show, partly because I’m taking a conscious break while I come up with some new material. There is no increase in audience. I think I actually have a little stand-up following and before the show, I noticed suddenly that when I did shows, people were showing up to see me that were not just friends who owed me favors – that was pretty cool.

Q:How is your CD selling?

A:I want it to be selling more! Again, I’m amazed at what I call “the random people” that have got off their asses to buy it. And surprisingly, people are saying ridiculously complimentary things about the album. I’m hoping people aren’t burning copies for people because if I’m ever going to overtake Carlos Mencia and Dane Cook, I have to do it through people actually purchasing my work. My friends like to remind me that they are “excited for my album to come out” and I’m sort of over, the awkward moment when I have to say, “It is out. I have a copy on me right now. It’s $10.” And then there is an awkward pause.

Q:Is there any questions I didn’t ask that you’d like to answer?

A:Well, as I’m typing this my boyfriend and I are watching a repeat of the Soprano’s on A&E and I was just pointing out that most people don’t faint when they have a panic attack, a la Tony Soprano and his son. I have panic disorder and fainting during an attack would be a relief but it’s a more hellish experience than fainting. But I love that panic attacks are a part of this show.

Q:Any closing thoughts?

A:Acceptable TV is really funny and everyone should watch it and then they should support all upcoming and future projects from all the cast members of the show. And everyone try to use energy efficient light bulbs – I just replaced all regular light bulbs in my house.

For more information on Dr. Kirkman, check out her blogs either at “You’re In My Neighborhood” or myspace.com/jenkirkman .

Since heading to Los Angeles in the mid-nineties to pursue his acting career, VH1’s resident funny man Paul F. Tompkins has managed to make quite a name for himself.

“I had been doing stand-up for about eight years in Philadelphia and then moved out to L.A. to get into TV and film and everything,” said Tompkins, who only had a few hundred dollars and determination on his side for the move. “As poorly planned as it was, it really just had to happen.”

Since his humble beginnings, he’s become one of the faces of VH1’s “Best Week Ever,” a comedic look at the previous week’s humorous happenings.

“I put in, I would say in terms of effort, zero,” said Tompkins with a chuckle. “They give me the topics the night before we tape and then I look over them and I will usually jot down some ideas for jokes. Most of it for me, and I would imagine for a lot of the panelists, is in the moment, you know, improvising on the spot.”

Since the premiere of “Best Week Ever” in 2004, Tompkins has gone from relatively well-known on the west coast scene to popping up on VH1 with nearly every commercial break, making him one of those faces that you know, but maybe can’t put a name to.

“Its certainly raised my profile. When I traveled doing stand up, a lot of the people who have come to see me specifically it’s because they recognized me from ‘Best Week Ever,’ so it’s great in that way,” Tompkins said. “It’s funny how one thing leads to another and I may get some jobs from ‘Best Week Ever’, I may get some jobs because somebody saw me on an episode of ‘Weeds’ or ‘Countdown With Keith Olbermann,’ so it’s kind of like a puzzle trying to trace how one thing led to another.”

For a show that specializes in mocking celebrities and you tube phenomena in a very public forum, Tompkins has yet to have anyone lash out at him over his comments.

“No one has ever been angry at anything I’ve said. The other day I ran into somebody who was a producer for [“The Moment of Truth”]…It’s a game show where people submit to some sort of high-tech polygraph test, where they are asked extremely intrusive and invasive and intimate questions and they win money for telling the absolute truth… It’s horrible,” Tompkins said. “And I met a guy who was a producer for that show and he said ‘hey, keep it up. You guys are hilarious and I hope to keep producing shows that you can make fun of.’”

Tompkins is enjoying his role on “Best Week Ever,” and has few complaints about the show.

“The only times it really got me down when it was Paris Hilton, Britney spears and Lindsay Lohan again and again and again, you know? As long as there are new things to talk about, I’m perfectly happy. Because I hear a about lot of crazy stuff because from doing the show that I probably would not have been aware of otherwise. But yeah, when it got into that, there was a point where I just couldn’t talk about Britney Spears anymore, because, you know, she has kids and it’s sad,” Tompkins said. “When it gets into areas where it’s just the obsession with Paris Hilton, there’s nothing more to say about her. She’s a rich person who’s famous for being, you know, rich. She’s done a lot of sort-of terrible things, that are not as bad as murder, but she obviously seems to think she’s a very privileged person in all regards.”

“I think we’ve plumbed all the depths of Paris at this point,” Tompkins said. “There’s really nothing more to say about her.”

One of Tompkins first big breaks was getting a gig writing and performing on the HBO sketch comedy program “Mr. Show”. When it originally aired from ‘95-98, it ran at late hours and had a hard time reaching its audience. Since then, its become a revered cult classic along the lines of “Mystery Science Theater 3000” or “Family Guy” before it returned to the air.

“We all had a sense that we were doing something special. Because all of us that worked on the show were fans… before working on it. Because the first season was Bob [Odenkirk] and David [Cross] had kind of crafted that show themselves, and then they brought on writers in the second season. So for us it was this thing that we had seen and loved and then we got to help create it,” Tompkins said. “Somebody asked me ‘did you know it was going to be a cult hit’ well, no, you don‘t really know that going into it. I don’t think any body sets out to make a cult movie, a cultural phenomenon, unless it’s like “Snakes On A Plane” and then you see how that fails miserably, if that is your intention… We all knew that this was a really good thing and we all really cared about it passionately and worked on it as hard as we could.”

“It makes sense,” said Tompkins about the low ratings at the time, “looking back, that the core audience for our show, the target audience… were people who could not afford HBO. It [the target audience] was like young people, college people, stoners, whatever. It was… mostly dudes that probably did not have enough money to have HBO.”

Tompkins also just released his first stand-up album, “Impersonal” this last winter, which was something he was a little nervous about doing.

“It was kind of nerve-wracking, because I had not made a CD before, and there’s something about saying I am going put this down for posterity and the audience knows that that’s what’s going on here. I felt like this enormous pressure about it,” Tompkins said. “But, It was fun. It was a weird mix of fun and not fun at all… Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew ‘when this is over I’ll be happy I did it’ and I was. I was pleased with the result and now that I’ve got the first one out of the way, I feel like the next one will be easier.”

Until the next album or tour, Tompkins can be seen every Friday on VH1’s “Best Week Ever”, and nightly on “Best Day Ever.”

Originally published in the University Chronicle on 04-31-08.

Jason Schueppert

An outlandishly dark and creepy, yet hysterical short film in which Peter Criss from the band Kiss (in full cat make-up) seduces a young fan.

There’s something to be said for the weird blend they’ve done here. Mixing Satan, cocaine, cat food and homo-erotica into a wild ride takes some balls. The video was put together by Malcontents’ Cookbook, who currently have all of their videos up on funnyordie.com.

Watch and enjoy!

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“you gotta get up son, come on!”

I don’t really know what to make of this. Apparently everyone on youtube that has seen it finds it to be the best Garth Brooks song of all time (sure, fine, ok), and that it’s very uplifting.

Here’s what I get out of it: creepy, disturbing, and so hokey it’s demeaning. I mean, come on, angry Dad doesn’t believe in his son? Son makes Dad proud. Coach doesn’t believe in boy, boy proves him wrong.

How about how the kid doesn’t put the car in park? Is it because he’s a kid, or because he’s disabled? What’s with that run he does after he biffs it? What is that? Some sort of ’sneaky run’?

This is so weird and cliche, with a minor spin on things. I’m in love with this video, for all the wrong reasons.

read more | digg story

Michael Showalter has been beeping on the cool kids radar for a while. He started his career on MTV’s “You Wrote It, You Watch It,” was a prominent player on the sketch comedy show “The State” back in the mid nineties, starred in the outrageously funny “Wet Hot American Summer,” toured the shit out of out of his quirky and obscene stage show “Stella,” popped up in M. Night Shyamalan’s “Signs,” and just put out his debut comedy album Sandwiches and Cats.

Sandwiches and Cats takes Showalter’s goofy brand of comedic observations and condenses it into just under an hour, complete with erotic songs, the mocking a woman who brought a box of cats to the show and an anecdote about being mistaken for a D-list celebrity on the street (who would want to be confused with Screech from “Saved By The Bell”?). Showalter took a minute from making the people laugh to talk to Ghettoblaster about “The State” movie, the mutual adoration among members of “The State,” antagonizing interviewers and touring with Michael Ian Black.

Ghettoblaster: How does it feel to have one of the notable comedy releases of the year?

Michael Showalter: It feels great. I really I’ve got to be honest, I didn’t expect anything to come of it but I’m overjoyed that it seems to of been noticed to some extent.

GB: Has it been selling ok?

MS: From what I understand, yeah, actually. Comedy records don’t sell a lot. Unless you‘re Dane Cook. Comedy records on par don‘t, you know, sell a lot of records.

GB: Do you have any thoughts on the Dane Cook phenomenon?

MS: I have no problems with Dane Cook. None. I think he’s doing his thing and people like it.

GB: Were there any bad shows on the tour?

MS: L.A. was kind of disappointing. It’s weird doing shows in Los Angeles, actually, because there’s isn’t like a scene really, so you’re either doing like an industry show, in which case it has that vibe to it, or if you just do like a regular show like you’d do in any other city, it has just kind of a weird vibe. LA is just a weird town. I would say the shows that we kind of were under whelmed by was Los Angeles more than any other city. I’ve done lots of shows in Los Angeles and it’s always the same feeling.

GB: Did you ever hear anything from Screech or his people about your reference on Sandwiches and Cats?

MS: No, and I hope I don’t. No I’ve never heard, to my knowledge, Dustin Diamond is not aware of me and I’m perfectly happy to leave it that way.

GB: Did you see him on “Celebrity Fit Club”?

MS: Yes, he’s a really dark guy… He’s one of those child actor casualties. Because when you’re rich and famous that young, if you don’t have the right kind of influences around you, it can really screw you up, and I think he would be an example of that. Too much too soon can be a bad thing.

GB: How did you end up in the movie “Signs”?

MS: I auditioned for it and got the part. It was very strange. I really don’t audition for very much at all. And I certainly didn’t expect in a million years to get cast in that movie, but somehow I got cast.

GB: Were there any deleted scenes with your character? It seemed like there was more going on with him.

MS: No, I know it does seem that way, but there wasn’t. I would like to say that there was, but actually there was not.

GB: Do people try to be funny to you on the street?
MS: Not on the street, sometimes at shows. Sometimes you’ll get people that want to show you they’re funny, and that usually doesn’t work out too well. Because I’m not like the most on person, anyway, in life, so when people are trying to make jokes with me I usually shut down a little bit, and then they think I’m an asshole, but it’s really just uncomfortable, it’s not that I don’t like them or anything, and then they think I’m an asshole because I didn’t laugh at their jokes or offer them a job or something.

GB: Do you ever get antagonistic interviewers?
MS: I’ll give you an answer to that question. The answer is twofold. There was one interview I did where I answered, it was an interview I did online, I answered all of his questions very, very tongue in cheek so like every question he asked me, I wrote a somewhat obnoxious answer to it. And the reason that I did that is because I thought it would make a better interview than to answer his questions, that I thought were sort of, I don’t know, you know, banal, so I wrote stupid jokey answers to all of his questions and he printed the interview with a very, very angry introduction which basically said ‘this guy is a total asshole.’ So that would be one example. That’s on jackasscritics.com if you want to look it up. And then the other example would be that I do not respond well to a specific line of questioning that I get sometimes where interviewers are trying to get me to talk about my feelings around that certain other members of “The State” are more successful than I am. That is a surefire way to push my buttons Not because I disagree, but because I find it to be inappropriate. And so if an interviewer wants to call me to say ‘how do you feel about the fact that Tom Lennon and Ben Garant make more money than you’, that is a guaranteed way to shut down the interview. So you’re going to have to cross that question off your list.

GB: Did you initially think way back when you first started up with “The State” that you guys would still be in relatively close contact all these years later and still doing projects together?
MS: Yeah, to an extent. Yeah, I did. We have a really unique connection, that group of people. A very, very unique connection that I don’t think will ever go away.

GB: Did you know that you had something special when you guys started the troupe in college?
MS: Yeah, we did. We were very arrogant. We had a very high impression of ourselves that we were very great. I think we were cocky; that’s the word. It was kind of an intense thing to have that many people come together, all of whom share a very specific, although we each had our own individual voice, but we all had a very strong shared point of view about comedy and what was funny. And that coupled with the fact that there was a very high quantity of people who were actually really talented. A lot of really strong comedic performers and writers all just king of meeting at the same time in the same place and there weren’t a lot of weak links, I think all these people are very funny, and I don’t often think that. And I think everybody felt similarly, that there was a lot of
mutual admiration.

GB: How’s the “State” movie coming along?
MS: It’s coming along fantastically. There will unquestioningly be a second coming of the state at some point in the future, although it’s very relative to the writers strike, because until the writers strike is resolved, there’s not all that much we can do. What I can tell you is that the group is sort of essentially committed to each other that were going to come back and do something.

GB: Is there a “State” DVD out?
MS: They have not released it, but they’re going to. I don’t know when that will be, but the “State” DVD does exist, and it has commentary and deleted material and blah blah blah.

GB: What does 2008 hold for you?
MS: 2008, well, again, the writers strike puts kind of a doorstop in everything. But I have quite a bit of touring in front of me and I am working on several writing projects, more than that I cannot say, because we’re all on strike. I do have a bunch of TV and film projects in the works. I am attached to direct a zombie movie. Which is a remake of a German zombie film called “Night of the Living Dorks.” It’s sort of John Hughes meets “Dawn of the Dead”… I wrote a draft of the script, but there was a draft that preceded it that I liked a lot, but it’s a very well written marriage of two genres which I love, which are zombie movies and teen comedies. It’s a really funny, stupid movie about disillusioned teenagers and zombies.

Originally published in the Spring ‘08 issue of Ghettoblaster, a quarterly culture and entertainment mag.

Jason Schueppert

Marking his first foray into film making, Eran Kolirin wrote and directed The Band’s Visit, an Israeli film about an Egyptian police force that spends their off-time as a brass band. The film is centered around the eight-piece travel to a foreign city to play the opening of an Arab cultural center only to find that nobody is at the airport to pick them up. Stranded in a foreign land, their leader, Tewfiq (played by Sasson Gabai) decides they will keep their pride instead of asking for help from the Egyptian embassy and attempt to navigate the country on their own via bus. What follows is a beautiful, charming and quiet film that sneaks into your heart before you know what’s hit you.

The film centers around Tewfiq, a strict man. He’s built walls around himself and the world since the loss of his wife and son. He’s the centerpiece to the film, a stern man of conviction and dignity. Tewfiq’s joined by Haled, played by Saleh Bakri, a young officer who acts as though they don’t have women in Egypt. He spends his time as the resident lothario, trying to charm his way into beautiful women by asking them if they like Chet Baker and then serenading them with “My Funny Valentine”. The two of them are often at odds as Tewfiq believes that Haled is bypassing his professional duties by chasing women so relentlessly.

As soon as the band exits their bus in this town in the middle of nowhere, they find that they can’t locate the Arab cultural center. The band makes their way to a local diner to get directions, where they’re in formed that they’re in the wrong town. Lost, confused and without an escape, they end up lounging at the eatery and being taken in by Dina, the owner. Ronit Elkabetz plays Dina as an independent, sexy vamp who finds more than a little amusement with the bands situation and takes an immediate liking to the closed-off Tewfiq.

The film depicts the “cold peace” between Israel and Egypt wonderfully. Whereas there’s a lot of Israeli people enjoying tourism in Egypt, Egyptians avoid Israel as a destination. The film takes a leap by having the Egyptian police force cross that border and it speaks volumes of the yearning for peace and connection between the two nations.

The performance of Gabai as Tewfiq drives the film. His role as the head of the band is played with dignity and melancholy as he attempts to keep everybody on their best behavior in a foreign land. The roadblocks that Tewfiq keeps throwing up to keep Dina at bay, while she tries to woo him with her free spirit, underline his loneliness and professionalism.

“He really loved the script,” said Kolirin of Gabai. “There was something about him in the first meeting when I was just sitting and having coffee with him, I had the feeling I was talking to an Egyptian movie star. He’s not Egyptian, but he has a certain aura about him, which, you know, reminds me of the old time movies I used to see.”

With a background in TV, Kolirin took his time writing the screenplay, struggling to perfect it.

“It took a lot of years to finish ‘The Band’s Visit’” said Kolirin, “Especially to get the money for it, so it was about six or seven years… working on and off on this script…I strive, and I need and I desperately try to have something from everyone inside myself. I don’t write about the character, I feel that the character is myself, you know, this is the way I build it. Every character is like a different side of me. I can say that the story of Simon, who can not finish his con certo is very much about my own process with the film. For a long time I couldn’t finish the script and only when I let go of the need to push it to a big dramatic end, then I could finish the script and this is exactly the process of Simon and I put it in the script after my own personal process with the screenplay.”

With the undertone of the movie revolving around the personal walls the two countries have built around themselves, financing for the film was far from an overnight occurrence.

“For a first movie and for this specific story which was something that looked very strange to a lot of people (it wasn’t a very common theme for an Israeli movie)… it took a lot of time to convince enough people to invest in it,” said Kolirin. “Generally we had a lot of rejection about the script. We were constantly told that it was not good enough for a big screen, that it has no big events… that it doesn’t have a big dramatic theme… the people who did the movie with me, like the actors, the production company, we all loved the script, but getting investors… they were never too enthusiastic about it.”

For what seems like a very simple and poignant film about loneliness and cultural barriers, the movie has earned quite a supportive audience. As an official selection at Cannes it snatched the international critic’s prize. At the European Film awards, Eran Kolirin was declared the European Discovery of the Year, and the Israeli Film Academy dished out eight awards including best film, best director and best screenplay in its honor.

“The amount and how big it went, was very surprising,” said Kolirin. “I hoped for some recognition. Just getting into Cannes, I was very excited about it, but ever since it just went bigger and bigger and I never imagined that so many people around the world would somehow connect to this movie. It was very, very surprising. To begin with it’s a very small film, it’s also a very personal film for me, it’s very surprising it had such a good connection with such a big audience.”

With it’s pitch-perfect tone and memorable performances, it would seem to be a shoe in for the Oscar’s, but unfortunately, despite the rave reviews, the film was denied by the 80th Academy awards when it was put forth as Isreal’s foreign language film submission. With large portions of the film being in English, “The Band’s Visit” suffered the same fate as “Cache” and “Maria Full of Grace.” Since it didn’t have a majority of the dialog in the film being spoken in the native language of the country submitting it, it was disqualified.

“It was just one of those things where I was thinking ‘what’s that got to do with me and my movie? absolutely nothing,’” said Kolirin of the Academy snub. “Regulations and stuff, it blows my mind.”

Another curious twist in the tale of “The Band’s Visit” was it’s removal from the Abu Dhabi film festival. Despite having an Egyptian police band as the focus of the story, threats of a possible boycott from the Egyptian Actor’s Association prompted the removal of the Israeli film.

“The thing with the Abu Dhabi film festival, it doesn’t necessarily connect with this specific movie. Basically there is no cultural exchange between Israel and Egypt. [There’s] heavy political reasons and boycotts and you know, it just happened that this movie crossed the field at that time,” said Kolirin. “Even if it was a movie without any Egyptians and it was selected for the film festival, they would be forced to reject it. It’s not derived from the movie itself.”

Despite some minor bumps here and there, Kolirin and his film are finding their audience. With spacious, wide-shots that seem to invite you into the lonely world of the misplaced officers, “The Band’s Visit” slowly blooms as a character piece full of lost people trying to find themselves. With it’s tender tone, full of quirky, charming and funny scenes all built on the characters and their personalities, it’s made quite the splash in the international cinema circuit as people everywhere discover Tewfiq and his story.

Originally published in the Spring ‘08 issue of Ghettoblaster, a quarterly culture and entertainment mag.

Jason Schueppert

Jeff and Theresa sit on a bed. Theresa is clearly in pain, so Jeff offers to get her some aspirin from the front desk of the hotel they’re staying at. Instead of a few pills of Aleve, he comes back and drops his pants, shouting “I’ve got your medicine here, baby.” That’s how the protagonist rolls in Jeffery Brown’s “Be a Man.” The character does everything he possibly can to sabotage his relationship and emotionally destroy his girlfriend. And it’s hilarious.

“Be A Man,” is a parody of Brown’s own “Clumsy”, an earnest look at how love is in the details and quiet moments two people share. It’s also one of many comics that Brown, a Chicago native, has put out for Top Shelf Productions in the last few years. Brown has also animated one of his characters for the Death Cab For Cutie video “Your Heart Is An Empty Room” and snagged a deserved spot on NPR’s “This American Life.”

“It was pretty amazing,” Brown said about having his work featured on ‘This American Life’. “I worked with producer Jonathan Goldstein, who’s a talented writer in his own right, and that alone was interesting enough - taking the stories from ‘Clumsy’ and translating them for radio. The response was also over whelming, especially happening so early in my comics career.”

Another stroke of luck happened when he stumbled into doing an animated video for Washington indie-rock group, Death Cab For Cutie (perhaps you’ve heard of them?).

“A friend of mine introduced me to Aaron Stewart, one of the directors who also put the project together with Nick Harmer, the bassist [of DCFC]. They invited a slew of directors, animators, artists, etc. to submit proposals for songs, and they picked the one for each song they liked the most.” The resulting videos were collected for ‘Directions,’ a DVD that contains videos for every song on DCFC’s album ‘Plans.’ The end result earned a Grammy, but the process was far from a walk in the park. “We were on an extremely tight deadline, and I’ve never done animation before, so although it was essentially a three month process, it was very involved. I didn’t do any of the actual animation, which was done on computer, but worked out all the timing, and drew all the back grounds, characters and elements.”

Brown’s latest collection of favored mini-comics, “Feeble At tempts” just came out last March, but it’s just one of many projects he’s working on including last summer’s perfectly timed intergalactic warring robot collection “The Incredible Change-bots.”

“The big project for 2008 is my book ‘Little Things’, which is being published by Simon & Schuster in April,” said Brown. “It’s about a dozen stories, all autobiographical, but this time without the focus on relation ships. At least romantic ones. In comics I’m also starting a quarterly comic book series with Top Shelf of mostly humorous and fun comics, odds and ends.”

“I’ve also co-written a screen play called ‘Save The Date’ that looks to be actually made into a movie this April, with a release sometime in 2009,” said Brown of his venture into screen writing. “I’m still skeptical as to whether it’ll happen or not, but it should be a fun comedy if it does.”

With the comic boom of the nineties long gone, illustrating for a living has gone through some changes. However, Thanks to small publishers like Drawn & Quarterly, Fantagraphics, and Top Shelf Productions, more than just drawing superheroes pays the bills.

“[The indie comic scene] isn’t huge, but it is strong, and it’s definitely growing. I’m making my living (and supporting a family) just from my comics at this point. It’s a lot of work, between making the comics and promoting them through signings, conventions, etc. and I’ve been pretty lucky in the opportunities I’ve had, but you can definitely make it work these days,” said Brown.

Capturing the embarrassing details of life and putting them on a page has brought Brown a lot of attention. For somebody who’d originally planned to be a painter, he’s not doing too shabby.

Originally published in the Spring ‘08 issue of Ghettoblaster, a quarterly culture and entertainment mag.

Jason Schueppert

M83
Saturdays=Youth
4 out of 4

The fourth album for M83, “Saturdays=Youth” brings out a wave of 80’s inspired electronica infused shoegaze that’s a nice treat for the ears.

Formed as a duo in Antibes, France in 2001, M83 garnered much acclaim with their “Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts” back in ’03. Anthony Gonzalez and Nicolas Fromageau crafted dark, moody pieces that were being tossed into film trailers and soundtracks left and right, and soaked up loads of kudos prior to the dissolution of their collaboration, which happened after the brutal touring behind “Dead Cities.”

When Fromageau left the band, instead of losing whatever it was that made M83 work so well, Gonzalez honed in on a new sound and took M83 to the next level on his own. Gonzalez is now the front man and genius behind the upbeat, lyric-filled version of M83 and he works wonders with the new album “Saturdays=Youth.”

The track “Kim & Jessie” is loaded with synths and a Tears For Fears beat that’s soaked in a “Breakfast Club” vibe that is oh so nostalgic. It’s a clubby, reach for the stars song that builds and builds into a spectacular track. It’s the type of song that would have fit perfectly into the 80’s memorial flick “Donny Darko.”

“Graveyard Girl” is a poppy, hushed vocal, fun-filled song. The lyrics spin a story of a boy in love with a goth girl who’s enamored with darkness and sadness. The object of his affection is the type to lurk around a graveyard, speaking to the long-dead who can’t judge her. An urgent drum beat, and a well-placed spoken word dialog drive it along nicely. Despite it’s cheesy, goth-y title, “Graveyard Girl” is a beautiful, wistful track.

The album also features vocals from Morgan Kibby on a few tracks. Her angelic voice perks up the weird drum-beats of “Skin of the Night” and the track “Up!” helping to give the album a little more depth.

Gonzalez has been very public with the romantic vision he has of his own teenage years. The love of his wonder years clearly influences and drives his songwriting, giving the listener something that’s different, yet instantly familiar.

“Saturdays=Youth” is an insanely fantastic blend of electronica and that quiet vocals over rollicking instruments that classifies something as part of the shoegaze genre. Chock full of shout-outs Molly Ringwald and other decade definers, the album manages to avoid the cheese factor involved with trying to resuscitate a dead era full of dated sounds.

Originally published in the St. Cloud Times on 05-15-08.

Jason Schueppert

Sparkle Picnic: Episode #5 includes:

- Tony Mundo Opening (You Have An 800 Number?) {0:06}
- Bad Car (Get A Feel For It) {0:36}
- Pronounced Jesus (Oh.) {1:36}
- Unite Civilly (Fuck Me ‘Til Then?) {1:53}
- Chubby Torso Twins (Fun Entertainment For Your Next Party) {3:18}
- Bad Car (What’s That Smell?) {3:44}
- Demon Negotiation (Maybe Talk With Your Supervisor?) {2:41}
- Clown Turd (They’re So Uppity) {5:37}
- Shit That Fucking Annoys Me (I Don’t Fuck Around) {6:15}

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