 |
|
| Home · Reviews · Interviews · Contests · Blog · Forums · Follow Us On Twitter |
|
by Alex Keen Published: April 30, 2002
| Episode 2 | Episode 3 | Episode 5 | Episode 6 | Episode 7 | Episode 8 | Episode Four of Jon Favreau’s new talk show focuses more on storytelling and humor than independent films. Guests Kevin Pollak, Sarah Silverman, Rod Steiger, and Ron Livingston discuss working with Marlon Brando, the Aflac goose, murder mystery dinner theater, and grabbing Dolly Parton’s ass. The show opens with the group ordering drinks. Favreau asks which wine would go best before the meal, and the waiter offers Champagne. frump The opening dialogue begins with a short discussion of the military court drama, “Jag.” Silverman and Livingston both reveal they were on the show, Livingston saying he was known only as “Southern Guy.” Pollak pipes in that the show is obviously a rip-off of “A Few Good Men,” which he starred in. He is irked that the guy who plays his part is such a “frump.” The discussion veers somewhat as they begin to discuss who they are often mistaken for. Silverman reveals that once she was told she looked like “Wiseguy’s” Ken Wahl. making a memory Favreau and Livingston discuss how they earned free rehearsal time prior to making “Swingers,” by doing constant stage readings together. With all of that rehearsal time, both agree it helped their on-screen chemistry and timing. The discussion inspires Steiger to explain the magic of acting. “When you go right, you might be making a memory, which is the highest gift that any of us at the table can give anybody.” the littlest suspect Pollak tells an interesting run-in he had with a fan from a foreign country. He reveals that although “Usual Suspects” was a medium-sized indie in America, it was huge success overseas. One of his foreign “fans” ran into him and said that he recognized Pollak as the “littlest suspect.” Pollak also does an Alan Arkin imitation. the incident Silverman is the primary focus for the majority of the segment. The discussion begins with Favreau apologizing for inviting Silverman to a Hunter’s Lodge when she doesn’t eat meat. Discussion veers, as the group now talks about Silverman’s racial slur on Conan O’Brien’s talk show. Apparently she used the term “chink” in an attempt to avoid jury duty. Silverman retold the story for the group, explaining in detail why she used the term. the goose Pollak tells a short but great joke about a certain mascots role in protecting the country from chemical warfare. you’re da guy On the serious end of the spectrum, Pollak explains how he prepared for his first dramatic role in Barry Levinson’s “Avalon.” The comedian asked Levinson if he should get an acting coach (the same as Paul Reiser’s), and the director said no. “You’re da guy,” Pollak remembered Levinson said. According to the comedian, Levinson prefers the natural talents that comedians bring to film. murder Favreau tells a short story about his experience performing in a murder mystery dinner theater. the big surprise Silverman begins to tell a story about being an innocent and virginal waitress (age 18) and being sexually propositioned by her boss. She was called into her boss’s office, and the man exposed himself to her. Upon questioning from the group, Silverman reveals that she even continued to work as a waitress in that same establishment. Somehow the young actress makes a holocaust joke in reference to the experience. Steiger’s reaction to both of these stories is that he seems not too entertained. His reply to the first being: “I’m not going to ask you for another episode like this.” top billing The first of two funny stories Livingston owns. He explains the joy of casting in order of appearance and of grabbing a certain country musician’s ass on multiple takes. In the film “Straight Talk,” Livingston’s head is the first thing shown, and therefore he earns top billing – even though he has less than three lines in the film. horse race Favreau opens the conversation with an explanation of how he met Pollak. Both were filming separate projects in Toronto, and Favreau was interested in meeting with the comedian. Favreau is a fan of Scorsese, and asks Pollak about his experience in the film “Casino.” Pollak reveals that Scorsese has every detail of a shot meticulously planned out, but allows the actors absolute freedom over their performance. Steiger interjects with a fitting story about working with Humphrey Bogart while nearby crewmembers are distractingly talking about a horse race. Steiger makes a powerful delivery regarding the effect these men have on his performance that clearly reveals why the Oscar winner is a legend. marsupials To return the show back to its comedic focus, Pollak performs his Christopher Walken imitation. And explains that the magic of Walken is his ability make any two sentences appear to transition, even if they have absolutely nothing in common. the kiss Silverman asks the group to share their first homosexual experience. Steiger unflinchingly begins to talk about a theater acquaintance that kissed him in the theater. For this established screen “tough,” this story is quite revealing. improv Favreau begins by asking Steiger about his experience working with Marlon Brando in “On the Waterfront.” The Oscar winner reveals that although he feels Brando is one of the greatest actors of the past 50 years, he refuses to ever work with him again. While Steiger worked throughout the entire backseat scene with Brando during the latter’s close-up, Brando left Steiger to act with the script girl. ready to snap Pollak opens up the final conversation by asking Livingston what it was like to work with Tom Hanks on “Band of Brothers.” The comedian jokingly calls Hanks a prick, which leads Livingston to reveal that he sees Hanks’s darkside. That Hanks is just waiting to breakout. Pollak mentions Hanks’s next role is dark, playing a hitman in “The Road to Perdition.” While Pollak reveals his comment was entirely in jest, Livingston chooses to go out “on a limb,” and say that Hanks will soon enough be forgotten as “America’s Sweetheart.” Writer’s aside: It’s probably the alcohol talking. Commentary Like the previous episodes, it is apparent that not all of the guests are familiar with each other. In fact there is an interesting tension between Steiger and Silverman that standouts in many of the conversations. It is apparent that Steiger is not on Silverman’s comedic wavelength. Favreau does a very good job making sure this episode does not become an episode of “Politically Incorrect,” by either excising any altercations the two may have had, or by changing the subject to avoid touchy areas. The most entertaining moments of Episode Four are brought to the table by the (former?) stand-up comedian, Pollak. Well known for his Colombo imitations, Pollak is hilarious as Christopher Walken and Barry Levinson, and then equally informative when discussing how Martin Scorsese directs. His explanation of how he was referred to, as the “littlest suspect” was especially funny. The show airs on Mondays at 8:00 pm on the Independent Film Channel. 
Photograph by Robert Zuckerman |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright © 1997-2010 Burlee LLC. All rights reserved. | Reprints | Privacy Policy | Disclosure | About Us/Contact Us | RSS Feed |