Posts Tagged ‘Citytv’

“Wild Things, I think I love you,” says Dominic Monaghan

- January 15th, 2013

Dominic Monaghan - cover 2

Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan isn’t only about insects. But Dominic Monaghan does want to put a bug in your ear.

“It irks me, to say the least, when people just dismiss them or kill them,”   Monaghan said. “A spider, ew, they kill it.

“It wasn’t doing anything to you. It doesn’t really know you exist. It wants to be in shadow, it has come out into the light, it’s trying to get back into shadow, and for some reason you think it’s coming to kill you. It’s not, it’s just trying to find a safe place where it can stay alive.

“I’m just keen on breaking the myths that a lot of people think about insects, which is that for some reason they’re out to get us, that they’re evil little animals who wake up in the morning and say, ‘Kill the humans!’ That’s not their path.”

Monaghan, an actor well-known for his roles in Lost and The Lord of the Rings, is passionate about all kinds of animals. Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan – which debuts Monday, Jan. 21 on OLN – is an extension of Monaghan’s regular life, and even his home movies.

“Wild Things essentially is the way I’ve always vacationed as an adult,” Monaghan said. “I’ll usually look for an animal I’m interested in seeing, and then I’ll go to that particular place. That was the pitch (for Wild Things) that I gave out to companies.

“The show obviously has a deep correlation with the natural world, but it’s also a little bit of a travelogue, mixed with some food, it’s just about me and what I did.”

And it’s not just about the creepie-crawlies, even if Monaghan doesn’t find them creepy.

“We obviously used a lot of insects in the show as target animals because I’m a big fan of the underdog and the misunderstood,” Monaghan said. “They’re easy to find and they’re everywhere. But we also do a lot of stuff about snakes and lizards and certain types of mammals. If we find it, we usually film it.

“But as an order of animals, insects are the most important on the planet, by such a huge degree. The only thing that distinguishes us, humans, making us think that we’re in any way important is our ability to create art and technology. Apart from that, we’re the most destructive species on the planet. Worms and beetles, they create the planet, they continue to allow it to live and breathe.”

So if Wild Things speaks directly to Monaghan’s interests, has acting been something of a diversion?

“I always wanted to be an actor, but like a lot of people, I’m a lot of things,” Monaghan said. “I’m a huge (English) football fan. I’m a fan of food and travel and animals and movies. This is just one of the other things I’m passionate about, although you probably see more of me, because I’m not playing a character.

“If someone didn’t like me in Lost, I could say, ‘Well, they didn’t like Charlie.’ But if they don’t like this, then they probably don’t like me. That’s what I have to come to terms with.”

No worries, Dominic. You’re as likeable as a spider.

bill.harris@sunmedia.ca

@billharris_tv

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The Moy the merrier on 2 Broke Girls

- November 28th, 2012

Matthew Moy 3

Matthew Moy has an ability to laugh at himself and a good sense of self-esteem. He needs both those things for his role as diner owner Han Lee on 2 Broke Girls.

Han gets picked on a lot by the other characters, particularly Max, played by Kat Dennings. Han’s clothes, his height, his race, his culture, nothing is off-limits.

“At least on our show, we make a point of ragging on everybody,” said Moy (pictured above). “It’s kind of the way we show that we love each other.

“But you’re right, you need a high sense of self-esteem to take it. When you look like I do, you know, you take it.”

In one episode of 2 Broke Girls, which is in its second season and airs Mondays on CBS and Citytv, there were multiple references to Han being a 53-year-old man. “I’m 29!” an exasperated Han kept correcting.

“That’s so funny, right?” said Moy, who started his career in voice-over work for animation and videogames, and has guest-starred in series such as How I Met Your Mother, The Middle and iCarly. “It’s something I’ve encountered my whole life, I’m very used to being younger and older.

“I’m 28 in real life, but I’m used to people thinking I’m between 12 and 40.”

2 Broke Girls stars Dennings and Beth Behrs as, well, two broke girls. The difference being, Behrs’ character, Caroline, is not used to being broke, whereas Dennings’ Max has plenty of experience in that area.

Max and Caroline have a dream of starting their own cupcake business, but in the meantime they’re paying the bills by working at a greasy-spoon diner owned by Han.

“I’m so thankful for the people on my show, we have such great chemistry, Beth and Kat are like best friends in real life,” Moy said. “We’re super funny, we’re edgy, we get everybody in and out. It’s very fast.

“I’ll be honest, our episodes are written a little longer than what’s shown on TV. So you’re missing a lot of stuff that hopefully comes out on the DVDs. We pack it in, we get as many laughs as we can. That’s the advantage of a live studio audience, too, so we can get that feedback.”

The Han character is Korean, and occasionally Moy has to speak it. Which is interesting, because Moy is not Korean.

“I’m third- or fourth-generation Chinese-American,” said Moy, who, unlike his character, speaks English with no accent at all. A native of San Francisco, Moy also majored in Japanese in college.

“That is legit Korean that Han is speaking,” Moy added. “I spent about three days with a coach. Thankfully it works on the show.

“I’ve had a couple of Koreans talk to me and ask, ‘Do you really speak Korean? Because you don’t sound like you’re from Korea, but you sound like a second-generation Korean, someone who was born in America.’

“Hey, I’ll take that. I’ll take it as a newbie who spent three days learning it.”

2 Broke Girls clearly is benefiting from Matthew Moy’s full array of linguistic and comedic skills.

He can take a joke, too. Thank goodness.

bill.harris@sunmedia.ca

@billharris_tv

(EXTRA: For the column I wrote in September with Dennings (below left) talking about how important it is for women to know their “real bra size,” click here.)

Kat Dennings, Matthew Moy, Beth Behrs

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Yannick Bisson and Murdoch Mysteries “take flight” at their new CBC home

- November 21st, 2012

Yannick Bisson

New century. New network.

New Murdoch Mysteries?

Yes and no, according to lead actor Yannick Bisson (pictured above).

A sixth season of Murdoch Mysteries makes its debut early in the new year, on Jan. 7, on its new network, CBC. The Canadian series previously existed for five seasons on Citytv.

As it turned out, the previous season ended as the clock struck midnight and a new century – the 1900s – was born.

“It’s almost like it was pre-ordained somehow,” said Bisson, who plays William Murdoch, an innovative police detective with an eye toward the future.

“New century, new broadcaster, it really did fall that way. Man, nobody is happier than me.”

Bisson was asked if fans of Murdoch Mysteries are going to notice a difference from broadcaster to broadcaster, other than merely having to click to a different channel. Is the transition intended to be seamless, or do the creators want viewers to perceive that something has changed?

“It’s actually not really either in terminology for me,” Bisson said. “Really what we’re doing is continuing to give the audience what has been working. They love the show the way it is. We’ve given them new, more, extra of what they’ve liked so far. And to be honest it has been business as usual. It hasn’t been different in content or approach at all.

“But having a home (on CBC), having more people talking about the show, having a consistent time slot, having publicity, getting ancillary publicity on different platforms, knowing that we’re wanted, maybe that has changed us a fair bit.

“Confidence is such a big part of this. So definitely, I would say that aspect has changed.”

As far as story lines go, Murdoch Mysteries always has existed in a fortuitous time period, because so much of what we take for granted today was invented or conceived in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

“Now with the new century we’re able to talk about things like flight,” Bisson said. “So there is an aspect of that coming up in season six. If you can picture the Murdoch character experiencing flight, that gives you an idea. It’s going to be great.

“We also have people who come into historical prominence later on, and we always take a bit of creative licence with stuff like this. But we’re bringing Winston Churchill to the show, with all of his young man’s sort of foibles (Churchill is portrayed by Thomas Howes, who played William on Downton Abbey).

“Some of it is really trivial, little things like sticky tape. Stupid little things like that, but it puts a smile on your face. And at the end of the day, we’re entertained just as much as the viewer by this stuff. I absolutely love doing the show for those little moments. ‘Canned meat? Who are you trying to kid? That will never take off!’ ”

As long as Murdoch Mysteries continues to take off – literally and figuratively – Yannick Bisson will have his head in the clouds.

bill.harris@sunmedia.ca

@billharris_tv

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Amy Poehler on series-changing Parks and Recreation scene: “I cried.”

- October 26th, 2012

Adam Scott, Amy Poehler

So just how series-changing is the series-changing moment that we just saw on Parks and Recreation going to be?

SPOILER ALERT: If you don’t want to know what happened in the Parks and Recreation episode titled Halloween Surprise, which aired Thursday on NBC and Citytv, now’s the time to bail.

We all know of sitcoms that changed forever after a hookup or a proposal or an engagement or a wedding. Well, Leslie Knope (played by Amy Poehler, above right) and Ben Wyatt (played by Adam Scott, above left) now are engaged after a simple but emotional proposal scene.

“Well, starting next week it’s an hour-long medical drama,” joked Parks and Recreation co-creator and executive producer Mike Schur in a conference call with TV reporters on Friday. “So it definitely is a before-and-after kind of a situation.”

Poehler and Scott were asked for their thoughts on the big moment.

“When I read that scene, I cried,” Poehler said. “Because I was so happy that I had my job at Parks, and I got to do that scene with Adam, and that Mike Schur wrote it, because I knew it would be great. I was really happy for Leslie.”

Added Scott, “I felt like this was a really big deal for all of us. We, of course, are well aware that these are fictional characters that we are playing on television, but we all care about them. Speaking for myself, I care about them quite deeply. There was a feeling that this was very special, and we wanted it to be special for the fans and for the characters.”

Just a reminder, don’t forget to tune in next time for the debut episode of Leslie Knope, M.D.

bill.harris@sunmedia.ca

@billharris_tv

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Don’t Trust the B, but do trust the Beek – James Van Der Beek, that is

- October 17th, 2012

Don't Trust the B cast

James Van Der Beek has some clear comedic guidelines about the person he refers to as “fake JVDB.”

That acronym stands for “fake James Van Der Beek,” which is Van Der Beek’s character on Don’t Trust the B in Apartment 23.

The sitcom returns for its second season Monday, Oct. 21 on Citytv, and then a day later on its network of origin in the United States, ABC.

“For us, the whole formula, or rather the ingredients, the recipe, is to make sure that No. 1, nobody is ever really feeling sorry for me,” Van Der Beek said. “Because if you’re feeling bad for me, you’re not laughing.

“So as long as that’s not happening, we can go as far in the other direction as we want.”

Van Der Beek, of course, is best known for playing Dawson Leery on Dawson’s Creek, which aired from 1998 to 2003.

In Don’t Trust the B, Van Der Beek – who is behind the bar in the cast picture above – plays a fictionalized version of his present-day self, who happens to be friends with lead character Chloe, played by Krysten Ritter.

“What’s great about this show is that it’s really anchored by the two girls (Ritter and Dreama Walker, as June),” Van Der Beek said. “So it gives me a long leash to venture into bizarro land.

“We experimented with how far we can take it before people go, ‘Oooohhhh.’ And what we kind of touched upon is, we can be as narcissistic as we want to be, and we can have really bad things happen to him, as long as this fake version of me is talented. Even if he’s talented in a savant-ish way, you know?

“He’s borderline Rain Man when it comes to stuff like acting or dancing or whatever. But as long as he’s good at everything generally, then we can have all sorts of hijinks and pratfalls.”

In the second-season premiere of Don’t Trust the B, James goes against Chloe’s advice and starts investigating the possibility of a Dawson’s Creek reunion. Busy Philipps – a Dawson’s Creek alumnus – makes a cameo appearance in the episode, as do Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Frankie Muniz.

Asked about the prospect of a real-life Dawson’s Creek reunion, Van Der Beek just shook his head.

“Honestly, the only time we talk about it is when you guys (reporters) ask about it,” he said. “Everybody asks every single one of us at every single press thing, and it’s the only time we talk about it.”

Indeed, the heyday of Dawson’s Creek – which also featured the likes of Katie Holmes, Michelle Williams and Joshua Jackson – is a long time ago now. But both the real and fake James Van Der Beeks are doing just fine, courtesy of Don’t Trust the B in Apartment 23.

“This fake me is kind of lovably pompous and very self-absorbed,” Van Der Beek said. “When you pop that bubble, I kind of like those moments. I love it when the rug is pulled out from under him.

“If I didn’t have a sense of humour about myself, this would be the saddest job I’ve ever had.”

bill.harris@sunmedia.ca

@billharris_tv

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