Whole lotta pictures from the movie

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/BringingDowntheHouse-10001289/photos.php
- posted by sookeyjane 2/28/2003 11:42:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 



She liked it, she really really liked it

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/click/movie-10001289/reviews.php?critic=all&sortby=default&page=1&rid=846336

Bringing Down the House (Movie Review)
("B+ -- The ultimate crowd-pleasing comedy")
by Lee Tistaert
Bringing Down the House is the comedic experience you always dream for, but rarely get in return. In a sense, this is the definition of entertainment at its ultimate best.

This is one of the biggest surprises I’ve had in a long while, as I wasn’t expecting a great movie but more so just a light entertainment piece. But just a few minutes in, this flick had the giggles going already. The shock really comes considering that the theatrical preview is so brief and minimal in material that any regular filmgoer wouldn’t instantly brand it as a great funny diversion. This is one of those few great occurrences where so little is mentioned in the preview, leaving oh-so-plenty to be digested as it all comes to play. When you’re not laughing, you’re having a great time, which isn’t a frequent routine at the movies.
The film stars Steve Martin as a divorced man (Peter) who’s lonely and looking for something new and special in his life. The flick opens as Peter is chatting online with a woman named Charlene, someone who he believes to be a white blonde. Soon enough, they decide to meet up, but little does Peter know that the real Charlene is a big and aggressive black woman (Queen Latifah), also happening to be on the loose from jail. Such leads into a very humorous segment as the two get together, with Martin’s facial expressions and overall remarks only adding to the comedic power brought on my Latifah. Just when I thought the guys-night-out trio of Luke Wilson, Will Ferrell, and Vince Vaughn (Old School) was the dream cast, Martin and Latifah prove that just because it says PG-13 in the MPAA section doesn’t mean you still can’t be hilariously funny.

Bringing Down the House asks the question of what would happen if a fish-out-of-water woman were placed into the life of an uptight and lonely older man. But it also suggests that it is usually never too late to turn your personality around if the opposite side is more hopeful, or more so, a state of mind adjustment. And while some of this may come off cheesy or corny now, believe me when I tell you that this film is so hysterical and downright fun that it doesn’t even sink in to a sappy extent. Instead of making it a soap opera feast and expecting the audience to thoroughly get into deep relations with the emotions at play (which would’ve been the very wrong route; see The Recruit, Shanghai Knights, and Daredevil), the script allows the laughs to be the experience. And boy, does this House have laughs.

A lot of the comedy revolves around Charlene winning over Peter’s family and gradually becoming a positive angle of his life, with the brief occasions of Peter’s best friend, Howie (Eugene Levy), hitting on her and attempting to fit in with the ghetto nature. In one angle, Bringing Down the House doesn’t really have a plot or a big goal to achieve in the end. And in a sense, such makes the experience feel like you’ve been in the theater for a while. But on the other hand, if you’re having a terrific time it doesn’t even matter. The fact that this comedy has no real big landmark to reach at its climax then leaves it up to the laughter and the actor chemistry to permit the experience to be really enjoyable, and boy does it succeed in that division.

Kind of like Old School, descriptions of why scenes are so laugh-out-loud funny cannot be theoretically explained in a review, as words cannot justify the real thing. The closest I can come to drawing it out is that the comedic chemistry between Steve Martin and Queen Latifah is so genuine. When you’re not wiping the half-baked tear from your eyes from chuckling so damn much, you’re grinning from the sheer fact that duos like this don’t show up all that often. While Bringing Down the House lacks the witty nature of Bowfinger’s script, this film is really not that far away from achieving such a status.

Martin brings along an innocent charm that isn’t seen all that often, and quite frankly makes you wish he had more of these projects lined up. His performance here somewhat goes back to the Father of the Bride days where older moviegoers are probably not going to be the only demographic having a blast. While not as silly natured as Bride, Bringing Down the House really appeals to most of the ages on the board. The audience in attendance at the sold-out sneak preview ranged from 15 – 55 in age, with claps and cheers even going into the air at various moments of the show; and those cheering were sometimes young adults.

I’m not a very big Queen Latifah fan, but I really adored her here. I didn’t think she was that great in Chicago, but she did well in Living Out Loud. Bringing Down lets the actress run loose with both her physical humor along with her ability at running away with the dialogue and absolutely having a ball with what she’s performing. It’s ghetto talk under the confinements of the MPAA, and if elsewhere screenwriters discovered that it’s actually possible to whip up big laughs without foul language, well, this comedy would really be one of their best evidences. If you’re turned off by the slapstick nature of the concluding gag in the trailer, please, please, please note that that’s about as stupid as it ever gets in this flick; that’s actually one of the smallest jokes in the film.

I’ve always loved Eugene Levy as a comedian, as he’s constantly held a talent of giving hilarious deadpan deliveries with his characters (American Pie 1 & 2, Best in Show, Waiting for Guffman). Here, Levy supplies the usual shtick one would expect to find in a comedy of his. He’s sort of like the goofball sidekick who isn’t stupid enough to shun; he’s so enthusiastic about what he does, role wise, that the enthusiasm and easy charm rubs off the viewer so easily. Levy’s the supporting comedian you wish were around more often or at least in these types of roles. While the trailer does reveal one of the more amusing moments of his, Levy holds some truly bright spots that really bounce off well with Martin and Latifah assisting in the enjoyment factor.

Bringing Down the House is that rare film that comes along that can really surprise the hell out of someone. A simple trailer hinting at its rather goofball, silly tone, even if rather amusing, turning out to be one of the most entertaining comedies to come out for all ages in quite a long time. I wasn’t expecting to laugh on a consistent basis, but found myself having as grand of a movie-going time as I witnessed at Old School. And that really says a lot, being as though the vulgarity and foul nature of OS’s script is what makes it such a great pleasure to begin with (adding on the charisma of the cast).

Bringing Down is fine evidence that you can still be hysterical without being offensive even if it’s in a humorous fashion. This flick brings back the olden days of romantic comedies I have so missed a la Nine Months and even Mrs. Doubtfire (even if such is more of a general comedy), where not only is viewer contentment present but the crowd reactions are part of the experience. If anybody’s with a fun audience once this comedy debuts in theaters, watching Martin break out with his inner ghetto self can leave houses applauding. Bringing Down the House is the ultimate crowd-pleasing comedy to be released in many months (I can’t even remember the last flick offhand), and in the end, even if you didn’t learn anything significant, you’ll know you still had a terrific time.

Grade: B+


- posted by sookeyjane 2/28/2003 11:33:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 



A veeeeeery long article on BDtH, but worth it

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/BringingDowntheHouse-10001289/about.php
SYNOPSIS

Peter Sanderson (STEVE MARTIN) is a divorced, straight-laced, uptight attorney who still loves his ex-wife (JEAN SMART) and can't figure out what he did wrong to make her leave him. However, Peter's trying to move on, and he's smitten with a brainy, bombshell barrister he's been chatting with on-line. However, when she comes to his house for their first face to face, she isn't refined, isn't Ivy League, and isn't even a lawyer. Instead, it's Charlene (QUEEN LATIFAH), a prison escapee who's proclaiming her innocence and wants Peter to help clear her name. But Peter wants nothing to do with her, prompting the loud and shocking Charlene to turn Peter's perfectly ordered life upside down, jeopardizing his effort to get back with his wife and woo a billion dollar client (JOAN PLOWRIGHT). In the end, our unlikely pair has the chance to put each other's lives on higher ground... if they don't end up bringing down the house. -- © Touchstone Pictures

PRODUCTION NOTES

ABOUT THE FILM

"I'm fascinated by stories where an outsider comes into a world that seems to be on course and shakes everybody up," says David Hoberman, producer of Touchstone Pictures' new comedy, "Bringing Down the House." "In this type of film, everybody ends up growing, but not without a lot of pain, suffering and comedy in the middle." After previously seeing such similar outrageous comedies as "Ruthless People," "The Ref," and "Down and Out in Beverly Hills" to the screen, Hoberman saw similar promise for this film. And he had the perfect foil, the perfect buttoned-up casualty, in Steve Martin, who he'd previously worked with on the comedy hit "Father of the Bride."

"I think Steve was eager to get back to doing a mainstream comedy, and we were thrilled to have him," says Hoberman. "Steve is so wonderful when he plays characters who are put upon, and where he can be silly, ‘wild and crazy.'And he'd get to do all that in this film."

Martin agrees. "This was a broad physical comedy, and I hadn't done a film like that in a while. And it was outrageous – the script reminded me of something from the 1980s – sort of raunchy and freewheeling. I was excited about it."

"What I particularly connected with in our story is the idea that we are sometimes given gifts by the unlikeliest of people in the unlikeliest of forms," says Ashok Amritraj, producer of the film. "In this case, Queen Latifah gives Steve's character the permission to be, publicly, that person that he rarely lets the world see. The bottom line is that they are just magical together."

Martin found his character irresistible. "Peter Sanderson is a guy who has a very conservative lifestyle, and he's working too hard. That's driven his wife away, but he's still in love with her. So when Charlene enters his life, she turns it upside down, and ends up making him more attractive to his ex."

Martin also was attracted by the possibility of performing in a riotous, over-the-top comedy after writing more cerebral comic fare, including his play, "Picasso at the Lapin Agile," and his novella, "Shopgirl." "It's just the nature of the media that when I write, it's more cerebral, but when I act in a movie, it's more physical," he says.

Martin, who is not a computer addict or chat room participant by any means ("I stick to e-mail," he says), related to Peter on a basic level. "He's a straight guy and I'm basically a straight guy. It's great, because the straighter the guy, the funnier the scenes can become. Pure comedy is about contradictory people meeting each other," he relates.

Martin, who plays a dad to two kids in "Bringing Down the House," has come to enjoy playing dads, as he's done so brilliantly in two "Father of the Bride" films and "Parenthood." "I like the underlying sense of warmth of a dad with his kids that goes through these movies. And it's also a good source for humor because ‘the dad' is always supposed to be steadfast and strong and not make mistakes. So a lot of comedy comes out of that too."

Queen Latifah joined the cast as the unstoppable force that enters Peter's life. Hoberman was a fan of the multi-talented star. "I always thought she was really gifted; she could sing, she was funny, and I loved her in 'Living Out Loud.'"

Queen Latifah, who is also an executive producer of the film, brought a different point of view to the script. "There are a lot of controversial jokes in the film, and we'd go back and forth figuring out what was offensive, what was funny, and what was offensive but funny enough to get over-the-top," says Queen Latifah.

The actress describes her character, Charlene, as "ghetto fabulous and smart; she's just made some bad choices." She enters Peter's life like a pit bull without a leash.

Now that the two stars were on board, the production took on the important task of finding the perfect director for the material. Adam Shankman was everyone's choice.

"I think Adam brought it all together," says producer Ashok Amritraj. "We knew his rapport with the actors would bring out their best." Steve Martin felt he was in good hands with Shankman. "I saw 'The Wedding Planner' and thought it was fabulous. I could tell that Adam had a good, sharp comic sense," he says.

Shankman was elated about the project. "It's a big, broad, urban comedy with an edge, which is something a little different for me," says Shankman. "And the chance to work with Queen Latifah and Steve Martin, who's been my idol for years, was just a surreal opportunity," he enthuses.

Shankman was also interested in the heart of the story. "The dangers of online dating is our opening warning wink," he says. But the bond that forms between the mismatched pair is the eye-opener, to the director. "Peter and Charlene come from different worlds. And therefore, they behave in a certain way because of where they're from not who they are," he says. "So if you peel their outer shells away, they can relate to and teach each other a few important things about family and self respect."

One thing Shankman didn't have to do was teach either actor about comedy. "I wanted to make a real traditional Steve Martin movie, like 'All of Me' and 'Father of the Bride,'" says Shankman. "And I told Steve that I wanted him to do the really Steve Martin-y things in this film. It's all very intangible, but he's charismatic without trying. And his comic style is the blueprint for my generation's physical, high-energy humor. No one does it like Steve. Also, I think you'll see him at his suburban best in this film."

Shankman was "blown away with Queen Latifah's comedy chops," he says. "She's fearless and doesn't mind playing the fool; she allows herself to look pretty crazy in the film. And she completely keeps up with Steve. In fact, she seems much more seasoned than her comic resume belies."

CASTING

The filmmakers of "Bringing Down the House" assembled an extraordinary ensemble of supporting actors to convey the story beginning with Eugene Levy as Peter's eccentric law firm colleague, Howie. Levy, who has in recent years become an audience favorite after his performances in such films as "American Pie," was delighted to play Howie. Unlike his best buddy Peter, Howie has an immediate animal attraction for Charlene. "Howie likes gals who are a little unorthodox and like to have fun, and Charlene fit that description," Levy says.

Levy was also excited about working with Steve Martin again. "We'd worked together briefly on 'Father of the Bride II,' but 'Bringing Down the House' was great because we got a chance to play with the scenes and kick around some ideas," enthuses Levy. "Eugene and Steve would often discuss different lines and the mechanics of a scene before we shot it," notes Shankman.

Queen Latifah became a sort of Henry Higgins-inreverse to her co-stars. "She taught us the street language," says Levy, "like, 'You got me straight trippin', Boo' – which I still don't have a clue about what it means."

At first, Steve Martin may also have not understood the translation of English into the street lingo that Queen Latifah was teaching him or what he was actually saying in the film sometimes. "But like me, my character, Peter, was also just copying what he'd heard somewhere. However, I got interested in finding out, for my own information, what it meant. And when it was explained to me, I thought, 'Oh yeah, that makes a lot of sense.' It was a kind of cool slang," says Martin.

Queen Latifah was happy being the student to these two comic veterans. "These guys are flawless. They're the best. I'm the young one around here; I'm the junior. I'm learning so much from them.

"I was also impressed with Steve's versatility; doing a scene differently with each take," she relates. Interestingly, Martin credits actress Diane Keaton, his co-star in the two "Father of the Bride" hits, as his inspiration. "Diane was the best person I ever saw make a scene fresh and new with each take. And remembering that, I think I was a little more spontaneous on this film," he says.

Joan Plowright was cast as Mrs. Arness, the wealthy dowager client that Peter is trying to land. Plowright liked the diversity of her character. "She's a 70-year-old, rigidly conservative battle axe who becomes a little more carefree by the end of the film," describes Plowright.

The veteran actress gave high marks to her director, Shankman. "Adam creates a very relaxed atmosphere on the set. He likes a lot of input, and allows you to have a go at an idea even if it turns out to be rubbish. But he's also very careful to pull you back if it isn't what he has in mind," she says.

The stunning Missi Pyle plays Ashley, Peter's ex-sister-in-law. "Ashley is materialistic, self-centered and smart. Actually she's a geriatric gold digger," Pyle confesses. "But I also think she's a little misunderstood. She's going after these rich old men to protect herself... when her beauty fades, she might need some insurance."

Shankman was very impressed with the actress on their first meeting. "Missi walked into the room and it was like 'Twister'; everything blew up. She's got such a presence, a lot of vavoom, and her comic timing is superb," he says.

Seasoned actress Betty White's comic timing wasn't lost on Shankman either. In fact, he was so excited when she came in to meet with him for the role of Mrs. Klein, Peter's racist next-door neighbor, that the director literally knelt at her feet. "I said, 'Oh, Miss White, it would make me the happiest man on the planet if you'd act in our film.' I just knew she would be great as this smiling, cookie-baking bigot," he relates.

Steve Martin had similar adulation for White. "Betty has always been an idol for me because as a child, I used to watch her on 'The Betty White Show.' And then when I was about 20, when I was doing my act at the Troubadour nightclub in L.A., she and her husband Allen Ludden stopped me after the show and said 'Hey, we think you're funny.'And I thought, 'Wow, Betty White thinks I'm funny.' And now that I'm working with her, it's such a thrill; she's just as happy and bawdy and present as anyone you could wish for," he says.

White describes her character, Mrs. Klein, as "prissy and frank. She borders on rude really. And it never crosses her mind to think that what she's saying might offend anyone," she says. White also relates Mrs. Klein to a television icon. "My character is over the top in 'Bringing Down the House,' but it's done with fun, and the audience will take it that way. After all, Archie Bunker from 'All in the Family'was outrageous but we all had a good time with him."

Versatile actress Jean Smart was cast as Peter's long-suffering ex-wife, Kate. She was impressed by the chance to work with her co-stars. "Steve and I had met socially but never worked together before and I was thrilled. He was so kind to me and kept me laughing constantly! He's also extremely intelligent. Queen Latifah really impressed me; she's a terrific actress and gorgeous, too!"

"For Kate, it's a case of 'can't live with him, can't live without him,'" Smart says about her character. "So when she sees him start to loosen up, under Charlene's influence, she sees the reason she fell in love in the first place."

Smart also praises her director. "Adam's great. He always knows exactly what the scene needs and he's great at expressing it to you, and at the same time, he gives you the room to improvise. He is so much fun; we worked together once before so I was really looking forward to working with him again."

Other key roles in "Bringing Down the House" were filled by Kimberly J. Brown and Angus T. Jones as Peter's kids, Michael Rosenbaum as Peter's office thorn in his foot, and Steve Harris as Charlene's ex-boyfriend.

As Shankman notes, "We have a collection of wonderful actors that make each and every character ring true."

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

"Bringing Down the House" got underway on a beautiful tree-lined street in Pasadena, California where Charlene invades Peter's perfectly ordered house. The production then shifted to downtown L.A. for a South Central hip-hop nightclub scene where Peter insinuates himself into Charlene's world. These early sequences set the comedic tone for the duration of filming.

Julio Macat's cinematography was a key element in defining the film's overall visual style. "A lot of humor in the film grows out of the juxtaposition of Charlene's inner city environment and Peter's warmer, suburban milieu," says Macat. "In order for it to work, both worlds must look real."

Also, Macat, who is no stranger to comedies (he was the cinematographer on Shankman's first feature "The Wedding Planner"), thinks they should be photographed differently. "I light comedies fuller and richer to be able to capture the reactions of the characters. Reactions are the heart of the humor," he notes.

Production Designer Linda DeScenna proceeded in a similar fashion. From the urbanity of Charlene's sphere, to Peter's downtown corporate office, to his stylish, pristine home interior built on a Disney sound stage, "Every set reflected its purpose," she says. Completing the overall look, Costume designer, Pam Withers, who also worked with Shankman on "The Wedding Planner," collaborated with him and Queen Latifah on her unique wardrobe for "Bringing Down the House." "I wanted it loud and ghetto," states Shankman.

"We went over a lot of photos and tear sheets before we began production," says Queen Latifah. "And I'm not a little girl, you know. I'm a big, sexy woman, so you have to dress me appropriately. Also, Charlene has a specific urban hip-hop style. So we wanted to capitalize on that."

Withers concurs. "We tied up, cut up, and jazzed up her wardrobe with rhinestones, because Charlene has her own fashion flair but few resources. So she uses kitchen scissors or shoelaces to add some spice to her own ordinary clothing."

For the point in the film when Charlene – fed up with Ashley's racial slurs – engages her counterpart in a knock-down, drag-out catfight, Shankman enlisted the expertise of stunt coordinator John Medlen for the scene. The two talents had worked together on TV's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," so they had a built-in shorthand regarding the scene's choreography, which took three days of rehearsals and two days of shooting for the two minutes of screen time.

"Adam wanted the comedy and action to be based on their two different worlds; Charlene's street-fighting 'I'm gonna get you' moves versus Ashley's stylized, Tae-Bo technique," says Medlen.

Pyle, who is belted in Tae Kwon Do, was thrilled to have the chance to show her stuff. "Ashley thinks she can take on Charlene because she's gone to Tae Bo exercise classes 'two hours a day, five days a week,'" Pyle quips. Her real martial arts background helped her to "go the distance" during the two days of filming the fight.

Shankman brought in his dance colleagues Anne Fletcher and Chris Judd to choreograph the hip hop and dinner club scenes with Steve Martin and Queen Latifah and dozens of dancers/extras. "The idea of the scene was that Peter doesn't know this music or how to dance to it, so I showed him a few basic moves, and let him go wild," says Fletcher.

"I flipped myself around and had fun doing it," says Martin.

For the dinner club scene, Martin had to be a little more contained, yet still uncoordinated. "I'm not a dancer; I'm Mr. Clunky even when coached," says Martin. "And Queen Latifah naturally moves really well. So we weren't exactly Astaire and Rogers; we were more like Soupy Sales and Rogers. But that's the way the scene was supposed to be anyway."

Queen Latifah is not only adept on the dance floor, but also a Grammy Award-winning rap artist. She and her partner Shakim Compere will be executive producing the soundtrack for the film. "Before we started production, Adam (who has a great musical ear) and I knew we wanted music to be a real big element in this film, to give it the right momentum," says Queen Latifah. "There are night club and backyard party scenes which cry out for great hip hop songs."

Shankman concurs: "The overall feeling of the film is still a traditional Steve Martin comedy, so the score will have emotion and comic beats. But everything is going to have hip hop rhythms underneath it. To that end, Queen Latifah has a song in the film, featuring Mario Winans, called 'Do Your Thing.' Also, Queen has recorded a bonus single for the soundtrack called 'Better Than the Rest.' In addition, there are some brilliant R&B songs, ranging from Barry White's 'I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More, Babe,' to Kelly Price's cover of 'Ain't Nobody,' which was a hit for Chaka Khan."

- posted by sookeyjane 2/28/2003 11:24:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 



A correction

on tuesday, 25 Feb 2003, i said:

On Sunday, Steve was in Aspen. On Monday NYC. On Wednesday, NYC, the back to Aspen.

i was wrong. apparently he was in l.a. for the taping of the view on wednesday. so, on sunday, aspen. monday, nyc. wednesday morning, l.a. wednesday evening, aspen.

i was also right. the man IS peripatetic.
- posted by sookeyjane 2/27/2003 09:58:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 



An interesting article divided pretty evenly between Queen Latifah and Steve

BPI Entertainment News Wire
February 26, 2003, Wednesday 02:38 PM Eastern Time
Entertainment News
Fun 'House'
ANGELA DAWSON, Entertainment News Wire

LOS ANGELES: As host of the upcoming Academy Awards, Steve Martin vows to play no favorites among the nominees. With one exception: Best Supporting Actress candidate Queen Latifah.

Martin admits he'll be quietly rooting for the 32-year-old rapper-turned-movie star, whose performance as a singing wheeler-dealer prison matron in "Chicago" has garnered her the coveted nod. She also happens to be his co-star in the new comedy "Bringing Down the House."

"What's good for the Queen is good for Steve," says the veteran actor. Martin, 57, reveals he knew little about his co-star when he signed on to do the film but soon discovered "a warm, happy, loving person" in Queen Latifah (born Dana Owens), when they were cast as opposites whose paths cross.

"I knew who she was and I'd heard her music," says the white-haired funnyman. "But I didn't know things like she had had a talk show until we were shooting."

In the film, Martin plays Peter Sanderson, an uptight workaholic tax attorney still carrying a torch for his ex-wife, Kate (Jean Smart). Reluctantly moving on with his life, Peter meets a woman he thinks is a pretty blond attorney in an Internet chat room and invites her to his home for dinner. To his surprise, big, buxom African-American beauty Charlene Morton (Latifah) turns up on his doorstep instead. Turns out that Charlene is not really an attorney at all but a recent prison escapee looking for legal help to clear her name. Peter tries everything to drive her away, but Charlene is determined to stay put until he resolves her case.

Peter's new living arrangement doesn't sit well with his nosy neighbor, Mrs. Kline (Betty White); his finicky prospective client, Mrs. Arness (Joan Plowright); or his WASPy ex-sister-in-law Ashley (Missi Pyle). Only his colleague, Howie (Eugene Levy), seems to appreciate the beauty and wonder that is Charlene. Gradually, Peter learns to loosen up and have fun, hip-hop style.

For Queen Latifah -- her name is Arabic for "delicate and sensitive" -- the role of Charlene was a fun challenge. "I'm rebellious, like Charlene," says the actress. "I don't want to fit into other people's idea of me. Charlene's smart. I'm smart. She feels like she can be smart without having to be like anybody else. That's part of what she goes through that I can relate to. But she's a little more ghetto than me."

Like Charlene, Queen Latifah doesn't let little problems get in the way of her goals. An emergency dental procedure that morning doesn't hinder the actress from dutifully promoting her new movie.

Also like her character, she's had a few scrapes with the law. In 1996, the New Jersey-born actress was pulled over in L.A. for speeding and found to be carrying a loaded pistol and marijuana. It's something she's not proud of.

"I don't think it's sexy to have a record," she says softly. "But it happens."

She asserts that rappers and actors who boast of their criminal past are misguided. "If it's so fly, why don't they tell their kids to do it?" she asks. "It's bull----. Don't believe the hype."

Her latest arrest came in November, when she was pulled over on suspicion of drunken driving. She pleaded guilty to reckless driving earlier this year but declines to comment on whether she has completed a court-ordered alcohol treatment program.

She maintains that she was carrying the gun in her car in the earlier incident because she had previously been carjacked and feared for her safety. Still, she acknowledges she should have gotten a permit to carry a concealed weapon.

"If I had thought and done it the right way, just like if I had hired a car that other night, I wouldn't have had any problems," she says. "Sometimes it's really just about slowing down and doing things the correct way from the beginning."

Latifah is hoping to put her past transgressions behind her and focus on the positive things she wants to accomplish. Aside from being the "first lady of rap," the Grammy winner also manages other artists and has her own record label. She also serves as co-chairwoman for a financial aid program for young scholars set up to honor her brother, a police officer killed off-duty in a motorcycle accident several years ago.

Queen Latifah started out as a human beat box alongside female rapping group Ladies Fresh. She was 18 when she released her debut single, "Wrath of My Madness," in 1988. She made her film debut in Spike Lee's "Jungle Fever" in 1992, becoming one of the first rap artists to cross over successfully into film.

Early on, she enlisted the aid of an acting coach, who guided her through her first few films. "I knew there were things I should learn," she recalls. And one of those was "if I was going to be great, I had to have training."

Over the past decade, she's appeared in more than a dozen movies (including "House Party 2," "Living Out Loud," "The Bone Collector" and "Brown Sugar"), as well as the TV sitcom "Living Single." But it is her star-making turn as "Mama" Morton in "Chicago" that has shot her into the stratosphere. She was a Golden Globe nominee and recently named a Screen Actors Guild nominee for that performance.

"I just think it's her time," says Adam Shankman, director of "Bringing Down the House." "She's like a real person because she is a real person. That's part of the 'It' factor she has. She's not putting on anything. Her character comes out of her."

With "Bringing Down the House," Latifah is adding executive producer to her list of titles. She liked Jason Filardi's screenplay from the start, although she recognized that some changes would have to be made to get the tone of the movie just right. "We chopped a lot of the fat out and the super-offensive things from the beginning," she says.

Yet the film maintains an edginess that might leave some politically correct viewers uncomfortable, since it deals with issues of race and class in a straightforward if lighthearted way.

"Anytime you break a taboo it can produce a lot of laughs," observes Martin, who played a simpleton raised by a black family in his first movie, "The Jerk."

One funny scene is when Charlene introduces Peter to hip-hop dancing during an evening out. The image of a middle-aged white guy dancing between two voluptuous black women is inherently funny, but even more so in the hands of a physical comedy veteran like Martin.

"We are very different, but we connect on a comedic level," Latifah says of her co-star. "There's no lengths to which we won't go. We'll go all the way there. We're willing to let it go."

Anative of Waco, Texas, Martin admits he knew very little about hip-hop, or dancing to it, before making "Bringing Down the House." Nevertheless, he says with a smile, "it actually kind of works for me, because I look a little awkward doing it, which is what we wanted."

"Bringing Down the House" marks a return to mainstream comedy for Martin, who for the past decade has explored other aspects of his creativity. He's become a playwright ("Picasso at the Lapin Agile") and a best-selling author. "Pure Drivel," a collection of his witty short stories, was published in 1998. He adapted "Shopgirl," his first novella, into a screenplay, which will go into production later this year. He is also writing a second book titled "The Pleasure of My Company." His last mainstream comedy, 1999's "Bowfinger," received mixed reviews.

Anyone over 35 will remember Martin for his comedy routines on "Saturday Night Live," where he was a frequent guest host (though never a cast member) in the show's early years. He and Dan Aykroyd, playing new arrivals from Eastern Europe, had a recurring skit in which they popularized the catchphrase "We are two wild and crazy guys!" He also popularized another catchphrase, "Excuuuse me!"

Though busy preparing for his second time hosting the Oscars, Martin made a surprise cameo recently on his old show, turning up during the Weekend Update segment behind co-anchors Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon. Fallon, coincidentally, will co-star with Martin in "Shopgirl," along with Claire Danes.

Martin says he didn't realize that "Bringing Down the House" would require such physical demands when he first signed on. "It just sort of worked out that way," he notes.

During his press conference, Martin displays the quick wit that got him noticed in comedy more than three decades ago.

Asked how he chooses his roles, Martin deadpans, "Poorly."

Asked how he and his co-stars passed the time during takes, he retorts, "Intercourse."

Joking aside, Martin says he's content at this stage of his career.

"The drudgery of making a movie can only be ameliorated by the fun you have making it," he says. "Working with funny people like Queen Latifah, Eugene Levy and Adam (Shankman), make you feel like you're in a creative space and that really brings it to life."

- posted by sookeyjane 2/26/2003 06:50:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 



Steve is dating Anne Stringfield, says the gossip columns

and there's a nice pic of Steve. get it while you can.

http://pagesix.com/pagesix/31186.htm
Page Six
NYPost
26 Feb 2003
Steve's Squeze
THE alliance between Steve Martin and the New Yorker is getting nice and cozy. The actor-director-novelist is dating the magazine's deputy head of fact-checking, Anne Stringfield. The pair have been together since December, when Martin took the fetching journo with him to the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, D.C., says a source. Stringfield, 31, a devotee of sport fishing, has been the object of many a crush at the Conde Nast building.
- posted by sookeyjane 2/26/2003 02:08:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 



A positive review for BDtH

with a tip of the hat to CHFDigital who put me on to this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://www.filmjerk.com/reviews/bringingdownthehouse.html
Review: "Bringing Down the House"
By Sandra
Review Date: February 25, 2003

"Bringing Down the House," the new film from director Adam Shankman, is lively, jazzy and spirited. Although it registers as perhaps a 1 on an intellectual scale, it's just a rockin' good time at the movies.

Peter Sanderson (Steve Martin) is a straight-laced, white tax attorney. He is divorced from his ex-wife Kate (Jean Smart), who he still loves. Peter and Kate also have two children, Sarah (Kimberly J. Brown) and Georgey (Angus T. Jones). Sarah is becoming a rebellious teenager, and Georgey doesn't know how to read. Peter doesn't really understand how to connect with his children. We also see that Peter has become Internet pen pals with a supposed lawyer named Charlene, who uses sophisticated legal jargon. She sends Peter a picture of her, and we see that she is a tall, beautiful blonde woman. They make plans to meet at Peter's house.

Peter is bewildered when Charlene Morton (Queen Latifah) shows up at his door. Charlene is a big, sassy African-American ex-convict who claims that she is innocent. She disrupts Peter's life, but he is about to get a big client in the form of Mrs. Arness (Joan Plowright), a snooty old woman. Peter promises he will work on Charlene's case and give her a place to stay if she stays out of the way most of the time. Peter's best friend, Howie (Eugene Levy) ends up falling for Charlene, and Charlene helps Peter get in touch with his children, and helps him try to get back with his wife. But is Charlene the lovable woman she makes herself out to be or is she really a dangerous criminal?

Steve Martin is one of the most gifted comedians of all time. Although he has been much better before, Martin is a wonderful "straight" man to Queen Latifah. The scene where he goes into a ghetto club, acting like a so-called "wigger," is one of the movie's highlights. Queen Latifah finally gets a starring role in a major motion picture, after years of playing supporting characters. Coupled with the recent Oscar nomination Latifah just received for "Chicago," 2003 should be a very good year for her.

Eugene Levy, who is hilarious in everything I've ever seen him in, steals all of his scenes, despite the fact the part is underwritten. Jean Smart's role doesn't have much substance, but she looks lovely and we can understand why Peter still loves her. Kimberly J. Brown and Angus T. Jones are also OK as the kids. Joan Plowright turns in an unexpected performance as a snooty, rich old hag who ends up getting, how should I say this, "hungry" near the end of the movie. Also turning in a deliciously nasty performances are Missi Pyle and Betty White, as Kate's bitchy, gold-digging sister, and Peter's racist neighbor, respectively.

Adam Shankman improves upon his previous pictures, "The Wedding Planner" and "A Walk to Remember," by a wide margin. "Planner" was a dull romantic comedy, and it seemed Shankman had no eye for comedy whatsoever. Well, Bringing Down the House proves us wrong. This movie is a winner, and you don't see very many movies that are actually funny, as opposed to fart jokes galore, anymore. "Bringing Down the House" is a hilarious movie that deserves to be seen by many people. I guarantee it will live up to its title when seeing it at the theater. I give it an A-.

- posted by sookeyjane 2/25/2003 11:26:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 



The genesis of the comedy film awards -- Steve is a midwife?

personally, i think they should call the award a Steeeeeeeeve.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The New York Times
February 25, 2003, Tuesday, Late Edition - Final
Section E; Page 8; Column 3; The Arts/Cultural Desk
When It Comes to Comedy, Awards Are No Joke
By JESSE McKINLEY


It's common knowledge in the funny business that so far as awards are concerned, comedy gets no respect.

Take the Oscars -- please! In the last 25 years only two comedies have been named best picture, a short list that starts with 1977's "Annie Hall" and ends with 1999's "Shakespeare in Love." It's enough to give a genre a complex. So it is that on Saturday at the annual United States Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colo., some of the nation's funniest filmmakers will put on their own award show for their own movies, complete with the red-carpet treatment (O.K., shag carpet treatment) and nail-biting suspense. (O.K., the winners have already been notified. But what will they wear?)

Called the Comedy Film Honors and so new as not to have a nickname yet (the Commies, perhaps?), the awards are the result of what organizers call a serious -- yes, serious -- lack of appreciation for the art of the film comedy.

"If you're making good comedies, there's a very good chance you're not going to get acknowledged by your peers," said Stu Smiley, the executive director of the comedy festival. "Comedy films are fundamentally important to the success of studios, and yet for some reason they are not taken seriously in a creative light."

Of some 500 new films released last year, 25 percent were comedies, according to Studio Systems Inc., which compiles statistics and research on television and films. Of the Top 10 films at the box office in 2002, five were comedies. Yet of the nominees for best picture -- "Chicago," "Gangs of New York," "The Hours," "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" and "The Pianist" -- only "Chicago" could be considered vaguely comic, and it's a musical.

Mr. Smiley said he thought of the awards shortly after last year's festival and quickly signed on a group of elite comedians and filmmakers, including Steve Martin, Barry Levinson and Billy Crystal, to oversee them.
The committee came up with four categories -- best studio comedy, best independent comedy, best first- time director and the audience award -- and mailed ballots to 300 comedy writers, directors, actors and producers.

The reaction was overwhelmingly positive, especially from directors.

"People think that medicine is supposed to taste bad or it's not good for them, so it's nice to see that something somewhat pleasant can get a prize," said Chris Weitz, who directed last year's "About a Boy" with his brother Paul. "I mean, we even have a suicide attempt in our movie, and it hasn't been recognized."

Paul Weitz added, "Next time we'll put in two."

No need. As of Saturday "About a Boy" will have won the first-ever Best Studio Comedy Comedy Film Honor. Other winners are Burr Steers, the first-time director of "Igby Goes Down," and "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," which was cited twice, as best independent comedy and the audience award winner.

The paradox, said Chris Weitz, is that many of the high points film history have been comedies, citing the work of Buster Keaton, the Marx Brothers and Charlie Chaplin.

"Great comedy filmmakers get their due," he said, "but only 40 years after they're dead."

More recently, Mr. Smiley said, he believed movies like "Caddyshack" (1980), "Airplane!" (1980) and "Animal House" (1978) have been overlooked in lists of "greatest films."

Peter Farrelly, the older half of the Farrelly brothers ("Dumb and Dumber," "There's Something About Mary") with his brother Bobby, concurred.

"The Zucker brothers went through their whole careers without getting an award," Mr. Farrelly said, speaking of Jerry and David Zucker, who wrote and directed "Airplane!" with James Abrahams. "I don't think they even got a star on the Walk of Fame."

The awards will cap the five-day comedy festival, which starts tomorrow. Now in its ninth year, the festival, sponsored by HBO, originally had a heavy focus on stand-up comics and sketch groups. But in recent years it has taken greater interest in filmmakers. This year's featured guests include Mike Myers, who is receiving an award from the American Film Institute, and the director Kevin Smith ("Dogma"), who will speak on freedom of speech.

Mr. Farrelly, who is on the awards executive committee, said he hoped that the festival would eventually expand its backslapping to include performance categories as well.

"I think it's kind of sad to me that a guy like Bill Murray, who I think is the best comedic actor of the last 20 years, has never gotten a major award," Mr. Farrelly said, taking a break from the set of his latest film, "Stuck on You," which features Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear as conjoined twins. "He's been as good as anyone doing the serious stuff. And he's done it over and over again."

- posted by sookeyjane 2/25/2003 10:57:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 



Steve is quoted a day ahead of the actual time. Impressive.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Press Association
February 26, 2003, Wednesday 09:57 PM Eastern Time
HOME NEWS
QUOTES OF THE DAY

****

"When it comes to romance, men go crazy. Men are the ones with the peacock feathers, the ones who have to dance around, go crazy and dress themselves, move in and lie" - Hollywood actor Steve Martin.


- posted by sookeyjane 2/25/2003 10:51:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 



On Sunday, Steve was in Aspen. On Monday NYC. On Wednesday, NYC, the back to Aspen.

the man is peripatetic.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Denver Post
February 23, 2003 Sunday 1ST EDITION
A SECTION; Pg. F-01
Jokers will be wild at Aspen Comedy Arts Festival
By Mark Harden Denver Post Assistant Arts Editor

Spotted in Aspen: Austin Powers, Frasier Crane, Dan Conner, Bart Simpson and Mr. Burns.

Seen on the street: moviemakers Michael Moore ('Bowling for Columbine') and Kevin Smith ('Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back')

Live from Glitter Gulch: broadcast yakkers Chris Matthews and Phil Hendrie

Walking the red carpet: Steve Martin on his way to a sneak preview of his latest flick

It'll seem to anyone passing through Aspen this week as though Hollywood has annexed the town.

Of course, a movie-star sighting isn't unusual in this ritzy ski village. But starting Wednesday, herds of glitterati will be surging down the streets, congregating in ballrooms and bars and busting up in theaters.

It happens every year when the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival convenes in Aspen, the greatest critical mass of comic talent in Colorado. This year's ninth edition runs Wednesday through Saturday.

At its core, the HBO-sponsored event is a snow-season networking opportunity for some 1,500 comics, actors, producers and entertainment executives.

'We try to draw people not only from Los Angeles but also from New York and really from around the world,' says festival executive director and founder Stu Smiley.

They'll be here to schmooze, get noticed, cut deals and check out the dozens of stage shows, sketch and standup showcases, career tributes and movie screenings slated this week. Such talents as Ray Romano, Jack Black and Camryn Manheim landed TV or movie deals after past USCAF appearances.

For the industry types, one of the big draws is Aspen itself, which has hosted the event since it began in 1995. 'It's great to be in the Rockies for a week,' says festival marketing executive Craig Minassian. 'I don't think you'll ever get someone from Hollywood to complain about a working vacation!'

The good news for us 'little people' is that these shows and screenings are open to the public, a fact well known to savvy comedy fans who flock to the USCAF each year. Some 3,500 'civilians' are expected to attend this year.

A look at the festival's highlights:

Actor/screenwriter Mike Myers will be honored at one of the festival's trademark tributes, this one to bestow the annual American Film Institute Star Award. The Canadian-born Myers, one of 'Saturday Night Live's' best-known alumni, starred in and wrote the blockbuster 'Austin Powers' series, including last year's 'Austin Powers in Goldmember,' as well as two 'Wayne's World' movies. He also provided the title character's voice in 'Shrek.' (7:30 p.m. Friday, St. Regis Hotel, Aspen Ballroom.)

Kelsey Grammer (TV's 'Frasier') and John Goodman ('Roseanne') will co-star in 'J. Edgar! The Musical,' an irreverent take on late FBI director J. Edgar Hoover's relationship with his deputy/companion Clyde Tolson. The piece, originally presented as a radio play in Southern California, was written by Harry Shearer (Mr. Burns on 'The Simpsons') and Tom Leopold. Also in the cast: Christopher Guest and Michael McKean (who, like Shearer, co-starred in 'This Is Spinal Tap') and Nancy Cartwright (Bart on 'The Simpsons'). (8:30 p.m. Wednesday, 7 p.m. Thursday and 2 p.m. Friday, Wheeler Opera House.)

The festival will present its 'Freedom of Speech Award' to filmmaker/author/political activist Michael Moore, best known to Coloradans for making last year's Oscar-nominated documentary 'Bowling for Columbine,' which uses the 1999 killings at Columbine High School as a jumping-off point for an examination of the culture of guns and violence in America. Moore also skewered General Motors in the 1989 film 'Roger & Me.' It's the second year the festival has addressed First Amendment issues, a way, says Smiley, 'to reacquaint ourselves with people who have sacrificed for their right to express themselves.' The tribute will be hosted by Joe Lockhart, former White House press secretary in the Clinton administration. (8 p.m. Thursday, St. Regis Hotel, Aspen Ballroom.)

The big-screen cyberspace comedy 'Bringing Down the House' - starring Steve Martin as a buttoned-down attorney cruising the Net who falls for what he thinks is a female lawyer, only to find out later she's a prison escapee (Queen Latifah) who aims to disrupt his life - will be one of numerous features and shorts to be screened as part of USCAF's annual film program. Martin and other cast members are expected to be on hand for the gala preview. 'House' opens in theaters March 7. (5 p.m. Friday, Wheeler Opera House.)

Another tribute will honor filmmaker/actor Kevin Smith, known for such provocative films as 'Clerks,' 'Chasing Amy,' 'Dogma' and 'Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back,' which have sparked ire from the Catholic Church, gay and lesbian groups and movie distributors. Smith has appeared in all his films as the slacker character Silent Bob. (4 p.m. Saturday, Wheeler Opera House.)

In a rare peek at the creative process behind a hit sitcom, the writers of CBS' 'Everybody Loves Raymond' will gather in a 'writers' room' format to talk about, and demonstrate, how they put the show together. 'They're going to show you clips from the various episodes, and they'll tell you what inspired that, how they got through that process,' says Smiley, an executive producer of 'Raymond.' (2 p.m. Saturday, St. Regis Hotel, Aspen Ballroom.)

Political pundit Chris Matthews will originate his MSNBC show 'Hardball' from the festival in front of an audience (7 p.m. Wednesday, Aspen District Theatre), as will radio talk-show host and satirist Phil Hendrie, known for bantering with made-up characters voiced by Hendrie himself. (5 p.m. Thursday and Friday, St. Regis Hotel Aspen Room.) Hendrie is carried on Denver's KHOW (630-AM) and Greeley's KFKA (1310-AM).

The festival's late-night revues - at which big names like Robin Williams, Steve Martin and Billy Crystal have appeared unannounced in years past to perform randy skits - are among its most popular events. Kelsey Grammer will be this year's host. 'A lot of people will drop in,' Smiley says. 'I don't know if it'll be star-studded, but it should be a lot of fun.' (Midnight Thursday, St. Regis Aspen Ballroom.)

Giving the festival an urban flavor, the NYC Hip-Hop Theater Festival will explore the intersection of rap and comedy in a set of sketches. (9 p.m. Wednesday, 10 p.m. Friday and 2:20 p.m. Saturday, Raw Space.) And 'Showtime at Harlem' host Rudy Rush will lead an 'Urban Connection' program of street-savvy standup comedy. (1 a.m. Friday, St. Regis Aspen Room.)

For the first time, the festival will present the 'Comedy Film Honors,' an awards program recognizing big-studio and independent movies. Also, says Smiley, an audience award based on an Entertainment Weekly survey will be presented. Monty Python's Eric Idle will host. (7 p.m. Saturday, St. Regis Aspen Ballroom).

Various standup and sketch programs will feature such big names as Janeane Garofalo, Jamie Kennedy, Norm Macdonald, Joe Rogan and Julia Sweeney as well as creator-stars Bob Edenkirk and David Cross of HBO's "Mr. Show." Comedy fest 411

The U.S. Comedy Arts Festival offers a great opportunity for Coloradans to experience world-class comedy in their backyard. If you want to go, here's what you need to know:
- posted by sookeyjane 2/25/2003 10:46:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 



Steve snuck on to Good Morning America this morning without telling me.

i missed it. bummer. but here's the transcript.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GOOD MORNING AMERICA - ABC
February 25, 2003 Tuesday
STEVE MARTIN "BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE" OPENING IN THEATERS SOON

DIANE SAWYER, ABC NEWS
Steve Martin. Ah, how he makes us laugh. Over the years, man of many parts, as we know, writer, among other things, as well as actor. Of course, he's hosting this year's 75th Academy Awards, as well, and starring with Queen Latifah in a new movie called "Bringing Down The House," which will open a week from Friday. And in case you missed it, he also just dropped by for a cameo on "Saturday Night Live" last Saturday.

VIDEO CLIP FROM "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE"

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) Steve Martin on and off the wall.

STEVE MARTIN, "BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE"
I'm doing a cameo here now.

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) Yes, here . . .

STEVE MARTIN
I'm doing an interview now.

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) This is not a cameo. You have to . . .

STEVE MARTIN
Yeah, this is an, a full interview.

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) This is a full interview.

STEVE MARTIN
This is, this is as big as it gets.

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) You a very, very busy man.

STEVE MARTIN
No, I was busy. And now I'm just . . .

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) Doing an interview.

STEVE MARTIN
. . . doing the promotional aspects of, of what I've done when I was busy.

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) 'Cause I saw you last night. You were on Letterman.

STEVE MARTIN
I was on Letterman last night. Yes. Mm hmm.

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) And, and you brought a film clip.

STEVE MARTIN
On what?

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) Or two. You brought some film clips . . .

STEVE MARTIN
Yes. Of my bad appearances on Letterman.

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) of your bad appearances on Letterman. Could I play one of them?

STEVE MARTIN
Sure. Go ahead. I didn't know you had . . .

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) We have to play, this is Steve Martin . . .

STEVE MARTIN
I'm so surprised.

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) last night. Who knew?

VIDEO CLIP FROM "LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN"

STEVE MARTIN
It's so funny. You don't even have to have a joke. All you have to do is do it.

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) You do take a chance, Mr. Martin. You do, you do. Is it true what I, I heard someone . . .

STEVE MARTIN
Uh oh. Here it comes. A tough question, I can tell.

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) This is very, yeah. It's . . .

STEVE MARTIN
It is true . . .

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) I'm winding up.

STEVE MARTIN
Mm hmm.

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) you know, I have to wind up like this. No. That, that a 7-year- old girl, you've always been very diffident about being in show business and the movies. A 7-year-old girl in the hotel came up to ask if you were . . .

STEVE MARTIN
Oh, should I tell you the story?

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) Yeah.

STEVE MARTIN
Oh, it was so sweet. I was doing promotion for "Bringing Down The House", we have to mention that.

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) Right.

STEVE MARTIN
And it was in the hallway of a hotel, and this sort of seven, 8-year- old girl came up to me and she was, she said, I think her mother sent her over, told her who I was, or something, and she said, are you in a movie? And I said, yes, I am. And she said, lucky.

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) Oh, well. You know.

STEVE MARTIN
So sweet.

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) What do they know . . .

STEVE MARTIN
Yeah.

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) from talent, right? Speaking of "Bringing Down The House", which was (INAUDIBLE) .

STEVE MARTIN
Yes. Bringing or you, you can also, if you want to be very hip, you could say, "Bringin' Down The House".

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) "Bringin' Down The House".

STEVE MARTIN
"Bringin' Down The House".

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) You and Queen Latifah.

STEVE MARTIN
Queen Latifah's sensational.

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) And, I don't just say this, 'cause I like you.

STEVE MARTIN
And Eugene Levy. Yeah.

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) It is truly funny. And you go very far, as we know.

STEVE MARTIN
The movie goes very far. It's, I think people are a little bit shocked and surprised, but then they laugh.

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) Right. Well, one of the things you have to do in order to help rescue her is go out into a pretty tough club.

STEVE MARTIN
Right.

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) Talk the talk, walk the walk . . .

STEVE MARTIN
Walk the walk.

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) and dance the dance.

STEVE MARTIN
Dance the dance.

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) And we have a clip from "Bringin'" . . .

STEVE MARTIN
I'm still, I'm still suffering from it.

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) "Bringin' Down The House". Let's do a clip.

VIDEO CLIP FROM "BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE"

STEVE MARTIN
I like that.

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) What were you saying? What were . . .

STEVE MARTIN
But I like the, I like the line she says to me, "Can you swerve, snowman?"

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) What were you saying?

STEVE MARTIN
Of course I can.

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) Did you know what you were saying?

STEVE MARTIN
I knew what I was saying. I . . .

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) Yeah.

STEVE MARTIN
. . . I knew, I don't remember. But, yeah, I think, I try to peep a bow-wow, I say that. It means I'm trying to find a friend.

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) Right. And then, I was . . .

STEVE MARTIN
My favorite line is Eugene Levy's line, he says to Queen Latifah. He falls in love with Queen, Queen Latifah and he looks at her and he says, "You got me straight tripping, boo."

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) Which means?

STEVE MARTIN
Which means I'm tripping, like I'm high, but I'm straight, because of you.

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) Oooh, that's lovely.

STEVE MARTIN
Yeah.

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) That's great.

STEVE MARTIN
Mm hmm.

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) All right. She . . .

STEVE MARTIN
Did you feel a little shiver when I said that?

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) I was, I did. I did. You got straight through me.

STEVE MARTIN
You're dying to walk the walk, aren't you? I can tell.

CHARLES GIBSON, ABC NEWS
(Off Camera) No. I am . . .

STEVE MARTIN
Now, I'm terrible at it. I mean . . .

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) Okay.

STEVE MARTIN
. . . it's part of my role.

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) Well . . .

STEVE MARTIN
I could not do it. I mean, I . . .

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) I was saying, forgive me, the two Whitest people in this, in this room.

STEVE MARTIN
Yes. Yes. Speak for yourself, ma'am.

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) But, anyway, can you show me?

STEVE MARTIN
No, it's just this. I mean, I could not really perfect it. But there's something in this . . .

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) The homey thing.

STEVE MARTIN
. . . move like this. I don't know if it's protective or, indicative or, no, no. That's really . . .

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) And what's the arm thing?

STEVE MARTIN
. . . you're really, you know, just this. Yeah. No, it's the hands. But it's more of a oval, yeah. I'm so ashamed . . .

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) And is there . . .

STEVE MARTIN
. . . and, and embarrassed and humiliated.

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) is there an arm thing?

STEVE MARTIN
Well, I don't have it. I mean, it's just a, a kind of a, it's like you're rapping your arms around a barrel, I guess.

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) Okay.

STEVE MARTIN
I don't know. This is . . .

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) Home, home thing.

STEVE MARTIN
. . . this is really . . .

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) I've got (INAUDIBLE) .

STEVE MARTIN
. . . we're getting a lot of tune outs, somewhere.

TONY PERKINS, ABC NEWS

(Off Camera) Excuse me, can I just . . .

STEVE MARTIN
Uh oh. Here we go.

TONY PERKINS
(Off Camera) interrupt this for a moment?

STEVE MARTIN
Oh. Oh, my God.

TONY PERKINS
(Off Camera) You know, I got to rate that a three. That was not very good, Diane.

ROBIN ROBERTS, ABC NEWS
(Off Camera) I give it a question mark. What was that? Girlfriend, girlfriend, what was that?

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) All right. Smarty. Give me a . . .

STEVE MARTIN
Well, if you're so smart, let's see you do it.

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) Let's see you do it.

TONY PERKINS
(Off Camera) No, no, no. I, 'cause I would be rate me a four. No, I can't do it.

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) Anyway, it's called "Bringin' Down The House".

ROBIN ROBERTS
(Off Camera) As you were. As you were.

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) It's very funny.

STEVE MARTIN
Very good.

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) And it opens a week from Friday.

STEVE MARTIN
March 7th.

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) March 7th.

STEVE MARTIN
March 7th, "Bringin' Down The House".

DIANE SAWYER
(Off Camera) It really is funny. And we'll see you on the Academy Awards.

STEVE MARTIN
Okay, great.
- posted by sookeyjane 2/25/2003 10:34:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 



Other clips from previous Dave Letterman performances

i don't know how long these will be available, so check them out

http://www.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow/dave_tv/ls_dtv_comedy_clips.shtml

included here are: singing balls, the making of steve martin's appearance, and steve and dave's gay vacation.

all extremely funny.
- posted by sookeyjane 2/25/2003 02:27:00 AM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 



Steve on Letterman

tonight's appearance was steve on speed. he was really wound up. he mentioned an article that appeared some time back that said that he was always at his best on letterman, so he set up a clip that included supposed past performances that were, shall we say, subpar. the article is appended here at the end of this blog entry, and you can see a bit of the video at

http://www.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow/dave_tv/ls_dtv_big_show_highlights.shtml

check it out if for no other reason than seeing steve stand on his head on dave's guest chair.

of course i enjoyed seeing him, but what i noticed more than anything is that he does letterman only when he's prepared things, as the writer says. and it's not just his clips or bits, it's the whole performance. he knows what he's going to do. tonight it was clear that his whole performance was prepared except for the part where dave threw him a curve and broke his rhythm by asking about roger (who by the way is 8 years old). i think in a way i enjoyed that part the most. you had the stage steve and the real steve. this will probably be on reruns for those of you who missed it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The New York Times
July 16, 2002, Tuesday, Late Edition - Final
Section G; Page 2; Column 1; Favorites
Song & Laughter; The Tao of Steve
By CARYN JAMES; Caryn James is the chief television critic of The Times.

STEVE MARTIN is the best late-night-talk-show guest ever. He walks on smiling and sincere like any other star with something to plug, but before long turns the spot into a tongue-in-cheek performance that spoofs the whole talk-show routine. He comes prepared. He makes videos. He has charts!

I would watch him anywhere, but he is never better than when he's on "Late Show With David Letterman" (a perfect match of ironic sensibilities) and was never funnier than in a four-minute-taped spoof they did a few years ago. After promoting his book of comic essays, "Pure Drivel" (his helpful chart told viewers which pages were really funny), he told Mr. Letterman that he felt awkward "after what happened last time." The men put on exaggerated embarrassed looks and the video began: "Dave and Steve's Gay Vacation."

As "I'm So Excited" plays in the background, Dave and Steve frolic on the beach, looking like the ultimate nerds in Bermuda shorts and socks. They toss a football, cast affectionate glances at each other, feed each other ice cream. But when Dave looks at another guy in a Speedo, Steve throws his beach blanket in the sand and runs away in a huff. It's so hilarious and goofy that any consideration of political correctness is wildly beside the point.

Mr. Martin has been behaving this way on talk shows for years. He once walked onto "The Tonight Show" with little brown paper sacks taped to his face and apologized for the bags under his eyes. He's a busy guy: playwright, actor, novelist. He doesn't have to go to this trouble just to get a plug. Because he does, he brings talk-show guestdom to a whole new level of insincerity.
- posted by sookeyjane 2/25/2003 02:06:00 AM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 



The Hollywood Reporter liked it better

The Hollywood Reporter
February 24, 2003, Monday
'Bringing Down the House'

Hail to the Queen! Hot off her Oscar-nominated success in "Chicago," Queen Latifah gives Steve Martin a run for his considerable comic prowess in the questionably tasteful but often laugh-out-loud funny "Bringing Down the House."

A prime example of how an expert cast can elevate iffy material _ Eugene Levy, Joan Plowright and Betty White are also in on the ribald act _ the picture's racially driven humor threatens to cross a line of inappropriateness on more than one occasion, but darned if it didn't play like gangbusters at a preview screening.

With Latifah drawing a young, loyal urban audience and Martin letting loose with the kind of big physical performance he hasn't tried on in years, the Touchstone picture has a good shot at bringing down the house records as far as comedies opening during nonholiday weekends are concerned. By now, thanks to all the advance promotion, few are unfamiliar with the initial setup involving divorced tax lawyer Martin's Internet love connection with a purportedly refined, Ivy League barrister who turns out to be a fresh-from-the-big-house Queen Latifah.

Proclaiming her innocence, Latifah's Charlene Morton is determined to get Martin's Peter Sanderson to clear her name and has no plans to quit disrupting his life until he agrees to help her.

While Charlene's presence in his home is welcome news to his bored kids (Kimberly J. Brown and Angus T. Jones), it's a little trickier to explain her to his ex-wife (Jean Smart), for whom he still has considerable affection. Then there's his nosy, rampantly prejudiced neighbor (a delectably shocking Betty White) to deal with, as well as an equally politically incorrect billionairess potential client (Joan Plowright) who doesn't see anything wrong with singing old Negro spirituals around the dinner table.

Scripted by Jason Filardi, the comedy pretty much pumps its premise dry long before the final act and then tries to compensate by piling on the outrageousness.

It's certainly a promising step up for director Adam Shankman after "The Wedding Planner" and "A Walk to Remember" as he mines ample comic gold from his ready-for-anything cast.

Whenever the Queen is on the scene (she's also an executive producer), she takes it to the next level with the kind of confident, sassy and absolutely engaging performance that carries the comedy through the saggy parts.

Her energetic presence also seems to have rubbed off on Martin, who gets back some of that old "wild and crazy" mojo here after playing it a little more sober in recent years.

Levy, meanwhile, hasn't lost any of his "American Pie" street cred, playing Martin's jive-talking, freak-boy business colleague. And Plowright makes the most out of her opportunity to have a little fun with her grande dame image.

Elsewhere, White's a blast, taking on a piece of work that makes her old Sue Ann character on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" look like Mother Teresa, and Jean Smart plays it smart as Martin's still-interested but cautious ex.

And as Smart's gold-digging, Martin-dissing sister, Missi Pyle kicks it loose with a heavily choreographed, knock-down, drag-out restroom brawl with Latifah that could never be mistaken for a catfight.

Speaking of settling scores, Lalo Schifrin contributes a fittingly retro musical backdrop that accurately recalls some of those unapologetically broad, goofy comedies of the '70s and early '80s.

- posted by sookeyjane 2/24/2003 04:20:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 



Variety has its say on 'Bringing Down the House'

Daily Variety
February 24, 2003, Monday
Pg. 6
Bringing Down the House
TODD MCCARTHY

A Buena Vista release of a Touchstone Pictures presentation in association with Hyde Park Entertainment of a David Hoberman/Ashok Amritraj production. Produced by Hoberman, Amritraj. Executive producers, Jane Bartelme, Queen Latifah. Coproducer, Todd Lieberman.

Directed by Adam Shankman. Screenplay, Jason Filardi. Camera (Technicolor, Panavision widescreen), Julio Macat; editor, Jerry Greenberg; music, Lalo Schifrin; music supervisor, Michael McQuarn; production designer, Linda DeScenna; art director, Jim Nedza; set designers, Nancy Deren, Rich Romig; set decorator, Ric McElvin; costume designer, Pamela Withers-Chilton; sound (Dolby Digital/SDDS/DTS), David MacMillan; supervising sound editor, David Whittaker; choreographer, Anne Fletcher; associate producer, Cookie Carosella; assistant director, Daniel Silverberg; second unit director, John Medlen; second unit camera, Johnny Jensen; casting, Victoria Thomas. Reviewed at the Avco Cinema L.A., Feb. 19, 2003. MPAA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 105 MIN.

Peter Sanderson .... Steve Martin
Charlene Morton .... Queen Latifah
Howie Rottman .... Eugene Levy
Mrs. Arness .... Joan Plowright
Kate .... Jean Smart
Ashley .... Missi Pyle
Sarah Sanderson .... Kimberly J. Brown
Widow .... Steve Harris
Georgey Sanderson .... Angus T. Jones
Todd Gendler .... Michael Rosenbaum
Mrs. Kline .... Betty White

Two game stars are forced to carry the lien on their backs in "Bringing Down the House," a black-collides-with-white culture comedy that could have been a lot wilder and crazier than it is. With Steve Martin and Queen Latifah both enormously at home in their respective roles as a straight-laced corporate attorney and a brassy ex-con who upends his rigid lifestyle, there are certainly good laughs to be had. But the contrived script and bland direction prevent the film from ever developing a comic life of its own, leaving what fun there is seeming like the foundation to a rumpus room that's never finished. Commercially, Disney should have little trouble promoting the picture as an almost ideal crossover comedy, as mainstream auds on both sides of the racial aisle will be amused with the up-front way stereotypes are broached. Following nationwide sneaks this weekend, biz upon general release two weeks hence should be brisk.

For many viewers, just the prospect of seeing Martin back in the sort of broad physical comedy that made his name will be enticing enough, while Latifah's still-rising star will be given a further boost from the way her character's antics force a pasty perfectionist to loosen up and get down.

Set-up promises rooms of potential. Having developed a friendly and mildly flirtatious online relationship with a "lawyer-girl," eager divorcee Peter Sanderson (Martin) invites her over, only to open the door of his luxurious L.A. home to get an eyeful of Charlene Morton (Latifah), a black bombshell in blue denim cutoffs who's been in prison but claims she's innocent and has come to him to get her name cleared.

Completely freaked over the woman's e-mail deception, Peter kicks her out, but she returns again, and again, and again, always at the most embarrassingly inconvenient moment. It's a gambit that can be played a couple of times, but device's frequency digs a hole for the film by making Charlene's rudeness almost as annoying to the audience as it is to Peter. And it raises the question of why Peter doesn't quickly agree to meet her at a convenient time and place and quickly finish their business once and for all.

But then, of course, there wouldn't be a movie, so Charlene pulls one stunt after another ---surprising him with a raucous house party at his Hancock Park manse, crashing his lily-white country club just before an all-important meeting with a billionairess prospective client (Joan Plowright), and disrupting his proper law office. Finally, Peter breaks down and takes the imperturbable interloper out to a dinner-and-dance club, where his ex, Kate (Jean Smart) just happens to be dining with her witch of a sister, Ashley (Missi Pyle), who earlier squared off in a brutal catfight with Charlene.

Duo's "date" leads to pic's comic highlight: When they get home, raunchy Charlene challenges an enthusiastic Peter to rediscover his long-lost cojones and become king of the jungle. Sequence brings out the best in both performers, as Latifah really shakes it, taunting the uptight lawyer, demanding that he grab her mountainous breasts (which he does) and do what a man's supposed to do, while Martin gets very silly and funny with some down, and somewhat dirty, slapstick. The two work so well together one wishes first-time screenwriter Jason Filardi's material possessed a level of inspiration worthy of the two performers.

After bothering Peter so much in the first half and getting him in hot water at work, second half has Charlene proving her worth by using her street smarts to help Peter's teenage daughter out of a jam, and Peter proving himself to Charlene by finding his inner homeboy. Latter is accomplished in an over-the-top climactic scene in which Peter, clad in ghetto gear, invades a shady downtown club, adopts street talk (taught to him by guess who), does some goofy dance-floor gyrations and confronts the gangsta for whose crime Charlene did the time.

Filardi's script could have used considerably more smarts about the building and sustaining of farce. Also missing are the sorts of comedic rhythms that take amusement to the realm of hilarity; the numerous very short scenes, especially toward the film's middle, allow no time for humor to mount. Direction by Adam Shankman ("The Wedding Planner") could not be more conventional, with production values following suit.

Eugene Levy scores with one-note second banana shtick as Peter's attorney buddy whose attentions to the awesome "Congo goddess" are so unstintingly perverse that Charlene repeatedly rewards him with the sobriquet, "freak." Plowright almost seems to be auditioning for any queenly role Judi Dench might not want as she strides imperiously through her role of a Southern girl-turned-British aristocrat who riles Charlene by sentimentally singing "Is Massuh Gonna Sell Me Tomorrow?" at the dinner table, but finally unwinds with the help of some ganja at a hip hop club.

Ultimately, "Bringing Down the House" might most be remembered, at least in the short term, for the joke (prominently featured in the trailer) in which Peter's little boy, having been shown a dirty magazine by "babysitter" Charlene, asks, "Daddy, what's a rack?" "It's a country," Pop testily replies.
- posted by sookeyjane 2/24/2003 04:17:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 



NO pictures... just links

i just found out that i can't upload pics to this site without paying for hosting. it also won't let me put on links... or at least, it won't let me embed them. bummer.

guess i'll have to get rich
- posted by sookeyjane 2/23/2003 08:02:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 



Just a note from SJ

there doesn't seem to be anything out there today other than personal testimonials to how funny 'Bringing Down the House' is. i wasn't able to go to the sneak, so i can't give you a first hand account.

however, remember that tomorrow night is Steve's Letterman appearance, and he will be on 'The View' on wednesday morning, abc. i don't think he's making any other appearances to tout the movie anytime soon because wednesday he's going to aspen, colorado for the comedy festival. although, the movie will be shown there in a simultaneous comedy movie festival. so i'm sure there will be some new articles within the next week.
- posted by sookeyjane 2/23/2003 06:01:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 



Another Down Under article on Underpants, Oscar, and Exes

an interesting article that takes poetic license with some of the facts... that is, it rewrites history as Steve rewrote the Underpants. to keep our facts straight, Shopgirl was published years after Pure Drivel. Pure Drivel included more than New Yorker articles. Heche was long gone from Steve's life before she took up with DeGeneres. minor details. it amazes me that reporters, with so much information to draw on, can't get simple facts right. but even so, this article has some new nuggets in it. thanks to Cleaning Wo-man who found it first and posted it on the message board. and remember as Tom Lehrer said, it's not plagiarism if you call it research -- and cite it, of course.

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/02/21/1045638482713.html

Sydney Morning Herald
February 22, 2003 Saturday
Metropolitan; Pg. 1
Smarty Pants
By Matt Buchanan

The curtain goes up, the undies fall down. Steve Martin's comic genius touches Sydney again.

The Underpants opens on March 5.

He's saying it, but I don't believe it. "Hosting the Oscars is kinda fun," Steve Martin says, in his highly elastic, familiar, West Coast twang. "The audience, they're people I know. They're a bunch of friends. And," he adds, "when I did it last time I really enjoyed it. I love, actually, these abbreviated TV appearances ..." This disclosure from Martin is rare indeed. Not because he seldom gives interviews, although it is true he rarely agrees to them. And it's not because Martin seems to be the only person on the planet who considers hosting the 75th Academy Awards to be more like a cosy bull session with a few pals rather than, say, a heart-freezing tightrope walk in front of multiple billions. No, it is a rare moment because we're not talking about underpants.

You see, for the past 20 minutes the subject has been set: it's been underpants, underpants, underpants and yet more underpants. Or rather, it's been The Underpants, Martin's adaptation of German playwright Carl Sternheim's 1911 farce, Die Hosen. Next month's production of the work by Sydney's Company B continues a collaboration the LA-based Martin has enjoyed with the company's director, Neil Armfield, since Armfield successfully midwifed Martin's first play, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, in the mid-'90s.

And, as polite, modest, intelligent and witty as Martin has been during our conversation, he has also shown himself to be a man who likes to keep the conversation on rails. His rails. And the looming Oscars ceremony is not a scheduled stop.

Yet, here we are. And, as long we've made the detour, there is something I'd like to know about Martin and the Oscars, and it's not about hosting. It's about standing there all night watching them being given away when he's never been handed one to call his own.

"Oh, no," he says, emphatically. "They don't give Oscars to comedians."

But they do give them to comic screenwriters. What about Martin's screenplays for Bowfinger, Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid and The Man with Two Brains, and the well thought-of LA Story? What of his own favourite, Roxanne, a hit adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac (on which he collaborated with another Australian, director Fred Schepisi)?

"Oh, look, no, I mean. No," he says. "Me thinking about winning Oscars, it just doesn't come up. And anyway ..." there's a brief pause, an imperceptible click in the signal box as Martin realigns the track. "Hey," he says, "weren't we talking about The Underpants?"

Of course, Martin is best known as a comedian and comedic actor, successful screenplays or not. Most of us summon the same simple but vivid CV when we hear his name - the whacky, zany, arrow-through-the-head guy on stage at the Hollywood Bowl or Saturday Night Live. The snowy-haired clown with the rubbery face who made a string of early, funny, movies (The Jerk, The Lonely Guy, etc) before becoming the likeable, almost handsome lead in undemanding and faintly disappointing roles as Hollywood's favourite middle-class, muddle-headed husband and father (Parenthood, Father of the Bride, The Out-of-Towners). That is Steve Martin. At least it was.

For the past five or six years, Martin has been more prolific and successful performing not on the stage or screen - can we ever forgive him for Sgt. Bilko? - but on the page. Indeed, having renounced stand-up comedy almost entirely during the early '90s, and having scaled down his movie commitments, Martin has found himself enjoying a surging literary career.

His well-received debut novella, the bittersweet Shopgirl, was followed by Pure Drivel, a best-selling collection of humorous "miniatures" he had published in The New Yorker. The first of his two original plays, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, was a great success in Australia and did well in the US (a screen adaptation for release later this year reunited him again with Schepisi). While his theatrical follow-up, WASP, also produced by Company B, won widespread praise, if not quite the same size audience. His second novel, The Pleasure of My Company, will be published this year, just before shooting begins on the screenplay he wrote for Shopgirl (which is to star Claire Danes). All of this has led, strangely enough, to Sternheim's evidently irresistible 100-year-old Die Hosen.

"It was brought to me by the director of the Classic Stage Company in New York who knew it as a dense German play, but who thought that it had a great premise," says Martin. "Then I read it, and I felt it had potential to be ... call it ... modernised."

Sternheim's premise is indeed ripe for fooling: the bloomers of a naive young woman named Louise (to be played by Lucy Taylor in her first role with Company B) drop to her ankles as she strains to watch a passing parade, electrifying several male bystanders, two of whom, [named Cohen and Versati in Martin's adaptation], descend upon her home with a view to "renting out the spare room". Theo, her inflexible, preoccupied husband, does not recognise Versati and Cohen as suitors, and Louise glimpses a sensual life hitherto denied her.

However, whereas Die Hosen is overtly moralising, casually brutal in its treatment of women and, quite frankly, a yawn when read in translation, Martin's The Underpants hoists Sternheim into the 21st century, conjuring a spirited, comic sketch of male lust, its confounding motivations and eccentric trajectories.

"Every word's been changed, but it definitely has Sternheim's structure," Martin says. "I really liked the idea that a very small incident has such ramifications; especially an erotic incident. I also thought it just sounds funny, the idea that someone's underpants fall down in public and huge mechanics are set in motion. That something so small can arouse something in men so very deep.

"But, really, I just saw it as the complications of behaviour that the simplest sexual incident can arouse, even if it's just the peek of a breast through a sweater. For these men, the underpants falling down is an erotic event. Even saying the word 'underpants' gets us all excited."

Sure enough, the very mention of Louise's unfortunate exposure is more than enough to keep the foppish Versati fluttering and the malingering Cohen agonising until doomsday. However, despite their obvious silliness, their ardour arouses Louise and, spurred on by the lovelorn spinster Gertrude, she finds herself looking to Versati for love. Cohen, whose hypochondria is something of a talent, watches on twitchily, too meek to act, but big enough to get in Versati's way. The men are idiots, of course, but then we've all been there, haven't we?

"I think when it comes to romance, men go crazy," Martin says. "Men are the ones with the peacock feathers, the ones who have to dance around, go crazy and dress themselves, move in and lie. And also, in the play, the romantic character Versati is a perfect character because he's so swept up by the romance, but the moment it becomes real, he leaves, like many romantic people do."

The Underpants received fair to good reviews when it was performed in New York last year, although Martin did attract some determined quibbling for his jettisoning of the broad social criticism that drives much of Die Hosen and, in particular, his new ending.

"Well, the original play ended on a very sad note with Louise resigned to being with this brute for her whole life," Martin says. "And I felt like I had rewritten it much lighter, and to do that ending would be a contradiction of the first 90 per cent of the play. And it's such a fun premise, I wanted to show that the ramifications were ongoing."

Does he have any artistic reservations about tinkering with someone else's work?

"Well, I've done it many times," he laughs. "I did it with Cyrano de Bergerac. I did it with Silas Marner [which became the film A Simple Twist of Fate]. I just had to learn there was a great tradition of it, including Shakespeare, who was adapting Roman plays. So it's a part of our artistic heritage."

I mention to Martin that his collaborator, Neil Armfield, has just endured a much publicised encounter with the Beckett estate over the introduction of music into Company B's production of Waiting for Godot.

"I really like Neil," he says. "I became very friendly with him when we worked on Picasso and I think he's a great director. But with Beckett ... they're very strict about that. And that's their right to be upset about it. Eventually it falls into the public domain and that's just the way it works. But I don't blame the Beckett estate or Neil Armfield. It's just one of those struggles.

"By the way," he adds, "Neil and I have recently traded phone messages. But I haven't been able to find him. He's asked me to call him because he has a couple of questions. So, you can tell him to call me. I left my number on his machine."

Later, in Newtown, during a lunch break from rehearsing The Underpants, Armfield nods cheerfully but silently when I pass on Martin's thoughts about the artist and adaptation. As for returning Martin's phone calls, he looks at first a trifle sheepish.

"Well, I did call him," Armfield protests. "But then he rang and I wasn't there. I did leave a message the other day: 'Steve. Working on the play. It's going really well. But there are few lines and things I think, well, they could be better ... if I may be so bold as to say that.'"

Can you be so bold with Steve Martin?

"Of course you can."

But then Martin and Armfield go way back. In 1993, Martin arrived in Australia with his then wife, Victoria Tennant. Tennant was here to shoot Snowy River: The McGregor Saga, after which she dumped Martin for co-star Andrew Clarke. Martin's subsequent relationship with Anne Heche proved equally disastrous when she left him for Ellen DeGeneres. But I digress.

Martin had brought along Picasso, his first script, stashed in his luggage, and soon found himself scouting for someone to workshop it. Armfield's name was suggested.

"He didn't want to be workshopping it in America," says Armfield, who admits he was initially more "a fan rather than a fanatic" of Martin's humour.

"So I put together a group including Richard Roxburgh, Tyler Coppin, Deborah Kennedy and Shane Bourne. I remember the first day Steve Martin arrived. He swung around the corner on his bicycle and said, 'Hmm ... I smell actors.'"

It was the start of a beneficial relationship for both parties. Armfield's production was so successful the play was immediately picked up in the US by Chicago's Steppenwolf Studio Theatre. Company B, in turn, was saved from the bailiffs.

"Picasso had an incredible impact for us," says Armfield. "The more we played it, the more popular it became, and the better it got, too. It was one of the shows that turned around the fortunes of Company B; that bankrolled it. It came at the end of a year, when our future was really uncertain. But it just played and played and did really well."

Having directed all three of Martin's theatre pieces, Armfield must feel he's in a better position than most to assess his artistic development.

"That's right," Armfield says, "but so are the actors (in The Underpants). Rebecca Massey was in WASP and Paul Blackwell and Keith Robinson were in Picasso, so they have a real kind of history and feel for his work. I thought Picasso was slight when I first read it. But working on it, I realised how good it was. And that was the thing with The Underpants, too. There are great lines and stuff but it has this wonderful kind of framework for clowning, which is so great because this cast is made up of some of the best clowns in the country."

Martin hasn't quite given up on clowning himself. In April he'll be reprising his timeworn incredulous, all-at-sea, 50-something opposite Chicago's Queen Latifah in Bringing Down the House, a movie that somehow promises not to achieve all that its title urges. But you feel the new Martin, the one who prefers to talk about underpants rather than Oscars, is leading the way.

"I used to do two or three movies a year and that just beat me down," he says. "It wasn't too healthy or smart. I'd prefer to do one every two years. And the truth is, that's about how long it takes to get a good script. Making a movie is a very isolating experience that takes you away from home. But writing; I like writing. I can do it anywhere. I don't have to go anywhere to do it. I like my life now."

- posted by sookeyjane 2/22/2003 01:19:00 AM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 



Info on Bringing Down the House -- some details you probably didn't get elsewhere

http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hp&id=1808404540&cf=prev
Greg's Preview (Greg Dean Schmitz)
Bringing Down the House (2003)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Official Site
· Movies.Yahoo.com/House/

Release Date: March 7th, 2003 (wide); (bumped up three months from June, 2003)

Title Note: (6/5/02) This hasn't been confirmed yet, but according to Dark Horizons, the title may have been changed to "Bringing Down the Houze." (6/23/02) That has been confirmed, but the "Houze" is now spelled normally. The original title was "In the Houze" (hence the DH spelling). (10/2/02) There are conflicting spellings of "House" and "Houze." (10/29/02) It's definitely "House."

MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for language, sexual humor and drug material)

Distributor: Touchstone Pictures (Disney)

Title Note: (10/25/01) During its development, this project was also known as JailBabe.com. That title was probably dropped because that URL is home to a XXX hardcore porn site. JailBabes.com is a dating service for incarcerated women. If you want to see what prison does to you, compare the photo's for Florida inmates with their actual prison mugshots (that state's "Sunshine Laws" allows access to penal records). Some of those are very scary.

Production Company: Hyde Park Entertainment (Goodbye Hello, Personal Injuries)

Cast: Queen Latifah, Steve Martin, Eugene Levy, Joan Plowright, Missi Pyle (Ashley), Jean Smart, Betty White, Kimberly J. Brown, Michael Ensign (Daniel Barnes), Aengus James (Mike), Angus T. Jones, Matt Lutz (Aaron Blair), Victor Webster; other cast not announced yet. This will be Queen Latifah's highest-profile starring role yet, having developed a strong resume of supporting roles in recent years.

Director: Adam Shankman (The Wedding Planner, A Walk to Remember)

Screenwriter: Jason Filardi (debut)

Premise: When a lonely guy (Martin) meets a woman (Latifah) on the Internet who happens to be in prison, she breaks out to be with him, and quickly proceeds to bring chaos and some much-needed change into his middle-class life... (Levy plays Martin's best friend; Smart plays Martin's wife)

Filming: Production started on April 19th, 2002 (pushed back two months from February, 2002; first scheduled for December, 2001) in Los Angeles on a budget of at least $20 million, and had wrapped by late October, 2002.


- posted by sookeyjane 2/21/2003 12:12:00 AM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 



And what they said about Steve as host 2 years ago... same site

http://www.oscars.org/73academyawards/host.html
Steve Martin host of the 73rd Academy Awards.
Steve Martin was the host the 73rd Academy Awards®.

"He's everything!" 73rd Academy Awards Producer Gil Cates said. "He's a movie star, he's funny, he's classy, he's literate - he'll be a wonderful host."

This has been Martin's eighth appearance on an Oscar® telecast, his first as host. Martin served as a presenter on six shows and introduced a Best Picture clip on the 69th telecast in 1997. He also participated in a gag film sequence for the 67th show in 1995.

"If you can't win 'em, join 'em," said Martin, who has not yet been nominated for an Oscar.

Martin is experiencing great success with the publication of his first novella, "Shopgirl," which is currently on the New York Times and Los Angeles Times best seller lists, and recently had its seventh printing. This past spring, Martin completed filming the black comedy "Novocaine" with Helena Bonham Carter and Laura Dern. The film is scheduled for release by Artisan Films in 2001.

- posted by sookeyjane 2/20/2003 09:41:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 



From the Oscar site, their bio of Steve as host

http://www.oscars.org/75academyawards/host.html
Steve Martin
Gil Cates, producer of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' annual presentation telecast has set Steve Martin as host of the 75th Anniversary Academy Awards.

"The 75th Anniversary show is a meaningful one for the Academy, and it is wonderful to work with a host who's done it before," Cates said. "A host who's witty, clever, sharp, intelligent, quick on his feet and always on top of the unfolding action. Wait, I've forgotten something. Oh yeah, and outrageously funny. He's also a gentleman, a gentle man and a delight to work with."

This will be Martin's second appearance as Oscar® telecast host. He first served as ringleader of the live broadcast in March 2001, for the 73rd Academy Awards. In addition, Martin has served as a presenter on six shows and introduced a Best Picture clip on the 69th telecast in 1997. He also participated in a gag film sequence for the 67th show in 1995.

"I'm very pleased to be hosting the Oscars again, because fear and nausea always make me lose weight," said Martin.

Martin recently completed filming the Disney comedy "Bringing Down the House," with co-stars Queen Latifah and Eugene Levy. The film is due out this spring. He begins "Shopgirl," adapted for the screen by Martin from his own best-selling novella, in January. Along with Martin, the film will star Claire Danes and Jimmy Fallon, under the direction of Anand Tucker. His next novel, "The Pleasure of My Company," will be published next fall by Hyperion.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2002 will be presented on Sunday, March 23, 2003, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland® and televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST. A half-hour arrival segment will precede the presentation ceremony at 5 p.m.

- posted by sookeyjane 2/20/2003 09:39:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 



This from rottentomatoes.com -- the awards Steve has won for acting


Year // Category // Status // Awarded By // Title
1995 // Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy // Nominated // Golden Globes // Father of the Bride Part II
1987 // Best Actor // Winner // LA Film Critics Assoc. // Roxanne
1987 // Best Actor // Winner // Nat'l Soc. Film Critics // Roxanne
1984 // Best Actor // Winner // NY Film Critics Circle // All of Me
1984 // Best Actor // Winner // Nat'l Soc. Film Critics // All of Me
- posted by sookeyjane 2/20/2003 08:52:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 



Another article on Rita Rudner's show with Steve as a guest -- Houstonians pay attention

The Houston Chronicle
February 18, 2003, Tuesday 2 STAR EDITION
HOUSTON; Pg. 6
LOVE AND LAUGHS; Comedienne Rita Rudner wants to solve your problems, just for grins
BY MIKE McDANIEL

When you have problems with your sex life, who better to turn to than a comedienne? Rita Rudner and her celebrity guests will have you forgetting your troubles in no time.

Her show is Ask Rita. It's been on since late January, but don't kick yourself if you didn't know it - the show airs at 1:30 a.m. on Channel 13. Syndicated to ABC-owned stations and others across the country, Ask Rita is a lighthearted attempt to solve personal problems submitted by the public.

"People seem to like it because it's a half-hour of light entertainment," said Rudner, on the phone from her home in Las Vegas. " We don't talk politics. We don't talk about serious issues. If you're a teen-age runaway on heroin, I can't help you. But if your neighbor is sleeping with someone, I might be able to have an opinion."

With Rudner's connections to famous comedians, Ask Rita has so far attracted the likes of Dennis Miller, George Wallace and Phyllis Diller. Future guests include Steve Martin, Betty White, Bob Saget, Sinbad, Dana Carvey and Louis Anderson. Their comments range from pithy to absurd to hilarious to outrageous.

The show is produced by Martin Bergman, Rudner's husband of 14 years. It's doing especially well in Las Vegas, where it airs at 10 a.m. Here, the show gets a 7 share - and that's decent for 1:30 a.m.

The show will originate from Las Vegas in April, which better suits Rudner, who is one year into a three-year contract with the casino New York, New York. Her stand-up career and a new baby occupy so much of her time, she begged off doing an hourlong talk show.

"I have a husband and a baby and a job at night, and I wasn't physically able to do an hour of television and still have a life," she said. "So the half-hour suited me and it also suited the format, which is Dear Abby meets Politically Incorrect."

It also keeps her free for special gigs. For the third year in a row, Rudner is a writer for the Academy Awards. This year's show, on March 23, is hosted by Steve Martin.
- posted by sookeyjane 2/20/2003 02:16:00 AM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 



Another new pic from 'Bringing Down the House' -- I like this one

http://us.imdb.com/EGallery?source=ss&group=0305669&photo=HouseKX93-309.jpg&path=group

this is a big one and a goody. check it out. there's some way to post pics on this blog, but i haven't gotten it to work yet. if i can, i'll put some on here.
- posted by sookeyjane 2/18/2003 12:11:00 AM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 



New movies -- it looks like 2003 will be a big Steve year

you can find out lots of stuff about 'Bringing Down the House' at http://movies.go.com/movies/B/bringingdownthehouse_2003/index.html

there is a section with 7 still pictures from the movie as well as the trailer and other interesting stuff.

and here's an early review from 'ain't it cool news'.

http://www.aintitcoolnews.com/display.cgi?id=14333
Jan. 29, 2003
Capone isn't bringing down BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE
Hey folks, Harry here... Although its trailer looks pretty bad, apparently the film is... hysterical according to Capone, a man of discerning tastes. Steve Martin being funny is always a good thing. Here ya go...
Hey, Harry. Capone in Chicago here, catching up with you on a few things I’ve seen recently. If all goes as planned, I’ll be bombarding you over the next couple of days with all sorts of art-house gems opening across the country in the next few weeks. But to start things off, let me throw you a Hollywood bone, one that has yet to be reviewed on this site, called BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE.

Steve Martin doesn’t make that many movies anymore, and after enduring works like SGT. BILKO and THE OUT OF TOWNERS, I wasn’t missing him too much. He’s become an accomplished author, playwright, and Oscar host, so when he’s seen fit to do a film lately, I tend to get excited whether they are comedies or not. In the last few years, Martin has made films like NOVOCAINE, THE SPANISH PRISONER, JOE GOULD’S SECRET, and BOWFINGER, all films I enjoyed a great deal. BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE marks something of a return for Martin to film’s with a borderline sitcom premise, but that’s okay, because he has the help of an rising force in film to keep thing moving along and funny.

If you’d told me six months ago that Martin and Queen Latifah were making what is essentially a “Race” comedy together, I would have snarled and made you wish you were wearing rubber underwear. But then came CHICAGO. In particular, then came Queen Latifah’s knock-em-dead performance in CHICAGO. The confidence and balls she displays in CHICAGO, side by side with “real” actors, is nothing short of miraculous. In HOUSE, Latifah returns to the comedic arena. Don’t forget she honed her skills (or should that be skillz) for five years on T.V.’s “Living Single.” And she shines brightly in HOUSE in a much more substantial part than she had in CHICAGO. Latifah plays Charlene Morton, a woman in prison for a murder she swears she didn’t do. She meets lonely divorcee Peter Sanderson (Martin) via an internet chat room, and the two eventually agree to meet, him having no clue what she looks like or what her situation is.

When they finally meet and all is revealed, it turns out Charlene targeted Peter because of his reputation as a great lawyer (tax lawyer, actually, but who’s counting?). And after a series of incidents where Charlene plays the race card to nearly humiliate Peter, he agrees to take a look at her case and help her beat the rap. Part of what I liked about HOUSE is how Latifah’s character is able to hide in the background of Sanderson’s life. The way people in Peter’s life assume Charlene is a waitress, nanny, cook, etc. when she shows up on the scene is troubling to us, but she uses it to both hide and be in the middle of things when she needs to be. And don’t think for a second that with a hot mama like Queen Latifah in the film that there isn’t a little sexual tension between her and Martin. One sequence has her trying to teach Peter how to be more of a sexual wild man in an effort to get back his ex-wife (Jean Smart). Seeing Martin with his hands planted on Latifah’s ampleness made my heart skip a beat.

There are plenty of great supporting plays on hand as well. Eugene Levy plays Howie, a coworker of Peter’s and man greatly in need of some sweet cocoa lovin’ from Charlene. The gone-to-long Joan Plowright (who hadn’t actually stopped working, but I haven’t seen her since 1999’s TEA WITH MUSSOLINI) has some great moments as an ultra-conservative heiress client of Peter’s. Yes, you will see Plowright get stoned out of her mind with some brothas at an all-black club. It’s the funniest scene in the entire film. On the not-so-funny side of things, Betty White plays Peter’s nosy, racist neighbor and serves no purpose. Missi Pyle is Ashley, best friend or sister (I can’t remember which) to Peter’s ex-wife is lame as well, although this is more the fault of the writing than the performance. There’s a running gag about how Ashley only dates rich, old men; that’s original. The worst of the bunch is “Smallville’s” Michael Rosenbaum as the younger workplace nemesis of Peter. Every gag involving him bombs; maybe his wig was itchy. Still, these are minor characters that don’t collectively have enough screen time to wreck this otherwise hysterical film.

Director Adam Shankman (THE WEDDING PLANNER, A WALK TO REMEMBER) maintains the perfect pace for this film. He injects just the right amount of heart-felt family stuff to make this a good date movie without drowning us in cotton candy. Martin seems to be actually enjoying himself. His scene in the black club where he’s decked out in full hip-hop gear and slings the lingo like a pro is astonishingly good. I could barely understand what he was saying! (That’s a good thing.) Yes, most of the white characters take turns talking that jive talk, but it works here. There’s nothing condescending or hurtful about the way BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE is put together. It’s a film full of energy, fun, great chemistry between the leads, and about one laugh every two minutes. Not bad. I believe the film opens in early March.

Capone

- posted by sookeyjane 2/17/2003 11:12:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 



Must be a project that fell through

i found this... it dates from 2000. apparently it's a project that quietly died. an interesting concept though.

http://movies.go.com/news/2000/1/stevemartin011200.html
Jan. 12, 2000
Steve Martin Stars as Manilow-esque Singer

Former wild-'n'-crazy guy Steve Martin is attached to star in the comedy Long Lost, the tale of a Barry Manilow-like singer whose songs "make the whole world cry."
The comedian, who scored with his 1978 song "King Tut," will star as a fictitious 1970s musical icon whose popularity has waned, notes The Hollywood Reporter. Enter a younger All About Eve-type schemer, and you have the makings of another funny showbiz satire à la Martin's 1999 offering Bowfinger, about a down-on-his-luck movie producer.

Actor-turned-director Griffin Dunne (Addicted to Love, Practical Magic) is attached to direct the project from a script by Patty Marx and Sarah Paley.

"Sarah wrote for Saturday Night Live when Steve hosted, and we both think [Martin] is the funniest actor around," Marx says. "We've been trying to come up with an idea for him, and now we are thrilled to be writing for him." Paley also worked with Martin on the comedian's 1981 TV special Steve Martin's Best Show Ever.

Marx co-wrote the preteen handbook How to Survive Junior High and has written for the children's shows Reading Rainbow on PBS and Rugrats on Nickelodeon.

- posted by sookeyjane 2/17/2003 11:02:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 



Steve prepares for the Oscars

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030213/people_nm/archerd_1
Archerd: Nicholson anxious about Oscar
Thu Feb 13,12:47 AM ET
By Army Archerd, Daily Variety Senior Columnist

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) -
****
Steve Martin's squad of Oscar writers had to jettison jokes about "Antwone Fisher" and "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind." But you can look for Steve to resuscitate his nose from "Roxanne" (1987) when referring to Nicole Kidman and "The Hours."


- posted by sookeyjane 2/17/2003 09:25:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 



Steve the Introvert and what that means

The Columbus Dispatch (Ohio)
February 12, 2003 Wednesday, Home Final Edition
ACCENT & ARTS; Pg. 01G
THEIR PUBLIC FACE; Some people with extroverted jobs turn out to be introverts
BY Marshall Hood

Before thousands of listeners, radio host John Corby comes across as a confident charmer able to milk even the dumbest topic for his popular call-in show.

Just the spark plug -- outgoing and quick-witted -- that you'd want to liven up your next gathering, right?

"When I'm at a party, I'm likely to be sitting by myself," said Corby, who, most recently, has hosted the afternoon show on WTVN (610 AM) since 1997. "I talk to thousands of people every day, but, when I have to, say, give a speech at the Hilltop Kiwanis, I'll worry about it two weeks out. "I think that would surprise a lot of people."

Meet John Corby, introvert.

One in three Americans, according to estimates, qualifies as such.

The ranks of introverts even include many celebrities and other people with high profiles.

But how? Aren't introverts equated with wallflowers and shrinking violets?

Actually, "innies" tend to have great powers of concentration, develop deep friendships and show strong skills in small-group and one-on-one situations, psychologist Marti Olsen Laney writes in the new book The Introvert Advantage: How To Thrive in an Extrovert World (Workman, $24.95).

Many introverts, typecast as shy and socially inept, have come to believe in their bad press.

"There's so much stigma, and it's sad," Laney said in a recent interview with the Los Angeles Daily News . "It helps to realize that a lot of people in the limelight are introverts."

Among them: comedian Steve Martin, anchorwoman Diane Sawyer, NBA star Michael Jordan and former President Jimmy Carter.

The faceless radio business tends to attract introverts, said Corby, a 30-year veteran of the industry.

"It's fairly common," he said. "You're acting out on the radio what you want to be. When people meet me, they expect 'the guy on the radio' -- but that's exaggerated."

Corby is most comfortable, he said, relaxing alone or with a few close friends.

Columbus psychologist Jeffrey Smalldon doesn't see the Jekyll-and-Hyde act as fraudulent: Many people have varying degrees of introverted and extroverted tendencies.

"It's like a continuum and very adaptive," he said. "People can tailor their presentation to meet the demands of the situation. To some extent, we can turn it on and off."

Connie Leal turns into an extrovert when need be.

"In my personal life, I'm an introvert," said the owner of L'eal, a women's boutique in Upper Arlington. "I'm not prone to share my feelings.

"I try to be in business because I want to be perceived as successful and get what I want. . . . I need to be proactive and aggressive.

"You can force yourself to be an extrovert."

Rather than become extroverts, Laney suggests, introverts should embrace their good qualities.

"We live in an extrovert culture where we value snappy thinking, speaking and acting. People who are introverts feel there's something wrong with them. Actually, they're extremely intelligent, but they don't understand how their minds work."

A key difference involves where the two types derive their energy: Introverts are fueled by ideas, impressions and emotions; and extroverts, by people, places and activities. Introverts prefer depth; extroverts seek breadth.

"Extroverts like to experience a lot," Laney writes. "Introverts like to know a lot about what they experience."

One misconception about introverts has to do with their shyness -- or lack thereof.

More than 40 percent of Americans characterize themselves as habitually shy, according to studies from the Shyness Research Institute at Indiana University Southeast.

Yet, while introverts might be shy, not all shy people are introverted, said New Albany psychologist Kurt Malkoff.

Introversion is an innate trait. Shyness is a painful self-consciousness that develops through feelings of embarrassment or humiliation, often traced to a particular incident.

Who could imagine that the effervescent Andrea Cambern, a WBNS-TV (Channel 10) anchorwoman, is a closet introvert?

"I have moments of being an extrovert to the extreme, and that's great," she said. "But there are more times that you don't see when I'm an introvert. When I'm at that extreme, I'm avoiding parties and even close friends just to curl up on the couch."

Like Corby, Cambern leaves her on-air persona in the studio and prefers the company of a small circle of people.

She, too, gets the public-speaking willies.

"I'll get all nervous. My throat gets dry; my palms sweat. I stress out about it. But when it's over, I'm fine."

She added with a laugh, "I often feel that I'm a social misfit."

The Los Angeles Daily News contributed to this story.

mhood@dispatch.com

Box Story:Which are you?
Reviewing both lists, check which characteristics best describe you:
List A
* Like the thick of things
* Know many people and consider them friends
* Enjoy chitchat, even with strangers
* Relish variety, becoming bored with sameness
* Derive energy from activities
* Have a generally peppy demeanor
* Speak or act without needing to think first
* Tend to talk more than listen
List B
* Prefer relaxation alone or with a few close friends
* Consider only deep relationships as friendships
* Experience blank mind in groups or under pressure
* Don't enjoy feeling of being rushed
* Need rest after activities, even the ones you enjoy
* Have a calm, self-contained, observational manner
* Think before you act or speak
* Tend to listen but talk about topics of importance to you
If you checked more qualities on List A: You are an extrovert. If you checked more qualities on List B: You are an introvert. (Some people, of course, fall in the middle, given that extroversion and introversion form a spectrum.)
Source: The Introvert Advantage: How To Thrive in an Extrovert World

- posted by sookeyjane 2/17/2003 08:17:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 



Steve at the Rolling Stones charity concert in L.A.

The Canberra Times (Australia)
February 14, 2003 Friday Final Edition
Section A; Pg. 16
More bang for your Rodeo bucks
BY: PETER BREWER

****
Green satisfaction

If Rolling Stones gather no moss, then why are they so green? Last week in Los Angeles, the world's most famous rock band (arguably) held its first free concert since 1968. However, the costs of the concert did not come out of the pockets of the ageing rock stars.

Several high-profile companies, including Honda America, were co-opted into helping sponsor the concert held to raise awareness about global warming and to raise funds for Natural Resources Defense Council, one of America's leading environmental advocacy groups

Honda Civic IMAs (powered by petrol-electric engines) were used to ferry celebrities to the concert. They included Hollywood actors Cameron Diaz and Leonardo DiCaprio, who were co-chairpersons of the fundraising gala, together with Pierce Brosnan, Steve Martin, Drew Barrymore, Rob Reiner, Sharon Stone, Sheryl Crow, and Lenny Kravitz.

Former US president Bill Clinton introduced the Stones, telling the audence that it was up to average citizens to 'stop the planet from burning up.'

Before the concert, Rolling Stones lead singer Mick Jagger had told reporters that doing the benefit concert was a no-brainer for rock's legends. 'That sort of says it all . . . we decided we thought that was a good cause and we would do it.'

About 12,000 fans won tickets through an Internet draw last month, while others received passes through nation-wide radio station giveaways.

And the whole event proceeded quite peacefully compared with the previous time the Stones held a free concert at the Altamont Speedway in Livermore, California, where fighting broke out and four people died.


- posted by sookeyjane 2/17/2003 08:14:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 

Article removed at author's request


Another Steve Hangout -- in NYC, the Carlyle Hotel
another long article with just a mention of Steve, but hey, it's the background of his life.

CanWest Global Communications Corp.
All Rights Reserved
Ottawa Citizen
February 15, 2003 Saturday Final Edition
The Citizen's Weekly: Style; Pg. E3
Lady sings the booze: Audrey Saunders, the 'Libation Goddess' at New York's legendary Bemelmans Bar, is one of a new breed of celebrity bartenders
The Ottawa Citizen
Natalie MacLean


This article was removed from the site at the author's request. You can look it up from the citation.
- posted by sookeyjane 2/17/2003 08:06:00 PM PERMALINK  



Long article with only a mention of Steve at the end, but it does set the stage about Aspen

Sunday Mirror
February 16, 2003, Sunday
FEATURES; Pg. 14,15,16
STAR HOLIDAYS: SNOW BUSINESS;
ASPEN ISN'T JUST ABOUT SKIING - THE COLORADO RESORT IS ALSO THE MOST

BY ANNA STEWART

Celebrities love Aspen. Here you'll find Cindy Crawford hosting a children's charity event, Arnold Schwarzenegger cycling with his children, Kevin Costner at a local gallery opening, Ben Affleck teaching Val Kilmer's son to ski or Jennifer Aniston shopping for swanky ski gear. Down the road there's Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas taking a stroll, Whoopi Goldberg and Jeff Daniels having a laugh in the Hotel Jerome lobby while Jack Nicholson chats up the locals in the bar, Elle Macpherson window- shopping around town and Kate Hudson sipping an apres-ski drink at the bar of The Little Nell. Keep your eyes open and you might spot Sean Connery, Angelica Huston, Dennis Hopper or Diana Ross. Not a bad day for a celebrity- watcher.

The first place to start your star search would be the famous slopes. Ivana Trump has been coming here for years and is probably one of the better female skiers. She was a ski champion after all,' says ski instructor Jim Bain. Jack Nicholson's a pretty good skier, Kevin Costner comes out here early in the morning and Antonio Banderas always hits the slopes over Christmas.' Snow-boarding was hot five years ago, but it's now desperately uncool. The learning curve was so easy that boarding couldn't keep fit, competitive stars interested for long,' says Jim. The Aspen skier is the best dressed skier by far,' says Lee Keating, the owner of favourite ski store Performance Ski. They're not overly fashioned out, they just look really good. Not flashy. For Aspen, Prada is it. It has technical, modern, clean lines and you can wear it in the worst conditions. This season, the 1960s/1970s look with bell-bottom stretch pants and short, tight jackets is in. People are tired of drab and dreary. If skiing is an outlet for celebrities to have a bit of fun, colours are important when choosing your slopewear. This year, you should be wearing red, blue and white. Elle Macpherson, Christy Turlington and Pamela Anderson are all looking great this season.'

After tackling the slopes and practising their bend ze knees', the A- list head up to a little over 11,200ft for some apres-ski at the Aspen Mountain Club. Membership to the exclusive European-style restaurant is strictly by invitation only.

Socialising is a big deal in Aspen. There are star-studded parties every night, with all the glitz of a big city in the trappings of an alpine village. But it isn't just a place where the super-rich go to look glam and be noticed - apart from skiing, the other major pastime is to kick back, take off the make-up, put on some jeans and go shopping. No other town with only two petrol stations could support, cheek by cheek, Prada, Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Cartier, to name just a few. The town has a way of making the multi-property set feel right at home. It's not that the punters don't gawk, it's just that there aren't many muggles in Aspen. Celebrities don't ask for each others' autographs.

The biggest problem with celebrity overload is when a handful of stars all have a hankering for a last-minute dinner reservation at, say, Pinons, the hottest restaurant in town. Then the dilemma for the management is which lesser celebrity to displace. Mariah Carey and Vin Diesel had a reservation last night for 10.30pm and then they called to say they would be arriving at 9.55pm,' says maitre d' Frank Chock. Fitting in last-minute celebrities is always my greatest challenge. They come with bodyguards and I have to get three or four tables together.' Frank claims he has opened windows on chilly Aspen nights to ever-so-subtly encourage lingering millionaires to abandon their tables so he can seat even more important customers. Once Cher called for a reservation for a large entourage, but I turned her down. I can't forsake my regular customers,' says Frank.

Every shopkeeper in Aspen has plenty of tales to tell about their famous clientele - but you'll never hear an indiscretion. One time I was talking to Demi Moore, who'd picked out some really great little antiques,' says Curious George, the colourful proprietor of America's finest western memorabilia shop, Curious George Collectibles (he has historic handguns priced beyond a quarter of a million dollars). It wasn't necessarily expensive, just cool stuff. "You really have a good eye," I told her. The kid who works for me said to her, "You got two good eyes". She loved it.

Another time she came in - with no make-up on - with a friend of mine called Oliver,' he continues. He and I were talking while Demi shopped at the back of the store. A girl walked in and Oliver whispered to me, "That's a girl from high school who never paid any attention to me." She walked over and said, "Hi Oliver. How are you?", then she spotted Demi Moore and screeched, "Oh my God, oh my God, that's Demi Moore!" Demi caught on to what was happening and walked up real close to Oliver and said, "Oliver, what do you think of this? Will you buy it for me?" The girl he could never have couldn't believe her eyes. Demi is so cool!'

Once Curious George gets started, he becomes one big name dropper. Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn, they're locals. We've been friends for 20 years or more,' he says. When Michael Douglas came in, we talked for an hour. After he left, my brother said, "You idiot, he came in to buy something and you just talked and now he's gone."'

George once stocked an old western-style gun belt with a pistol holster on each side, real shoot-'em-up-stuff'. The belt had some old cowboy's initials hand-tooled into the leather: HRH. According to George, Prince Andrew came in one day with some friends. They were having a ball,' he said. They spotted the initials and had to buy it.' George is certain it was a gift for Prince Charles.

Aspen is that kind of place. It has this feeling of a small-town community where celebrities want to be friends with the shop owners. The town protects its celebrities and it has an odd, kooky quality in that it feels almost like a stage set. Recently, Sally Field left her credit card at a till and the next customer in the queue ran down the icy street to return it to her. That good Samaritan was Phil Collins.

Local optician Tim Donovan tells about the time Robin Williams came in with a friend who was picking up an order. All of a sudden, Williams starts doing a routine with a half-dozen different pairs of eyeglasses all over his face. He went through about five or six numbers, then just walked out. Two customers from Wisconsin just stood there open-jawed.' Although Donovan has sold specs to the likes of Jerry Seinfeld and Oprah Winfrey, some of his best customers are people he doesn't recognise. He once sold 17 pairs of identical $ 800 glasses to one man, just in one visit. Then the customer came back again and bought six more. One guy bought a couple of pairs of glasses. He pulled out four wads of bills, easily around $ 100,000,' says Tim. I asked him if he needed anything else. He said, "Do you have a really large rubber band?"'

Stories of excess are commonplace here - last Christmas, a South American woman went to the local Chanel store and bought 40 handbags worth $ 2,000 each to send to her friends as gifts. Entrepreneur Harley Baldwin is a master at separating Aspen types from their stashes of cash. People spend money here because they have the time to buy art, jewellery or whatever,' says Harley. Aspen is the best place to shop between New York and LA. Women do ski but, at the end of the day, it's all about fashion.'

Harley can also accommodate you in the heart of town at his discreet luxury hotel, The Brand, where suites cost $ 3,000 a night. Something for a lady as a get-well gift after a skiing accident? How about a $ 275,000 emerald necklace from Harley's recently opened Caribou Jewels? His first customer, Kurt Russell, bought it as a Christmas bauble for Goldie. An after-dinner drink? Why not satisfy your tastebuds at the Caribou Club, with an 1812 cognac from the cellars of Napoleon Bonaparte for just $ 1,000 a shot. Seventeen shots were drunk on New Year's Eve. On a good night at the club, an elegant turn-of-the-century watering hole, you might spot Will Smith, Jada Pinkett, Steve Martin and Danny DeVito. The butler serves you a cocktail, then you go into dinner,' says Harley. Later on things start to get a little livelier as bottles are sent around the room. Early in the evening the music is Ella Fitzgerald, but by late at night it's getting quite insane - the celebs are swinging from the chandeliers.'
- posted by sookeyjane 2/17/2003 08:02:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 



Four pieces from SNL -- Oldies but goodies

A Holiday Wish
written by Steve Martin, performed on Saturday Night Live (1991)

Steve Martin: If I had one wish that I could wish this holiday season, it would be that all the children to join hands and sing together in the spirit of harmony and peace. If I had two wishes I could make this holiday season, the first would be for all the children of the world to join hands and sing in the spirit of harmony and peace. And the second would be for 30 million dollars a month to be given to me, tax-free in a Swiss bank account. You know, if I had three wishes I could make this holiday season, the first, of course, would be for all the children of the world to get together and sing, the second would be for the 30 million dollars every month to me, and the third would be for encompassing power over every living being in the entire universe. And if I had four wishes that I could make this holiday season, the first would be the crap about the kids definitely, the second would be for the 30 million, the third would be for all the power, and the fourth would be to set aside one month each year to have an extended 31-day orgasm, to be brought out slowly by Rosanna Arquette and that model Paulina-somebody, I can't think of her name. Of course my lovely wife can come too and she's behind me one hundred percent here, I guarantee it. Wait a minute, maybe the sex thing should be the first wish, so if I made that the first wish, because it could all go boom tomorrow, then what do you got, y'know? No, no, the kids, the kids singing would be great, that would be nice. But wait a minute, who am I kidding? They're not going to be able to get all those kids together. I mean, the logistics of the thing is impossible, more trouble than it's worth! So -- we reorganize! Here we go. First, the sex thing. We go with that. Second, the money. No, we got with the power second, then the money. And then the kids. Oh wait, oh jeez, I forgot about revenge against my enemies! Okay, I need revenge against all my enemies, they should die like pigs in hell! That would be my fourth wish. And, of course, my fifth wish would be for all the children of the world to join hands and sing together in the spirit of harmony and peace. Thank you everybody and Merry Christmas.


=========================================================================

.....Chevy Chase
.....Steve Martin
.....Martin Short
.....Lorne Michaels



[ the audience applauds wildly ] Martin Short: They like us! They like us!

Chevy Chase: Thank you!

[ Chevy throws his arms out and quiets the audience ]

Chevy Chase: Thank you very much, and good evening to you all.

Martin Short: First, I think, maybe, we should start out by saying our names. I\'m Martin Short!

Steve Martin: And.. [ shrugs in acknowledgment ]

Chevy Chase: It\'s great to be back in Studio 8H, and it\'s great to be doing my old pratfalls. Let me just start by saying that I want you all to know.. uh.. I\'ve been away for awhile, I was at a facility. And I really could not have done it without all of you. And that means you and you.. the letters and the cards.. uh, I don\'t know how to thank you all enough.. and I certainly couldn\'t have done it without the support of my friends here. It feels great to be, uh.. I\'m in good shape.. I feel loose, I did a little fall.. it wasn\'t a big deal, I got a little twitch in my back..

Steve Martin: Did you hurt yourself over there?

Chevy Chase: A little.

Steve Martin: Take a back pill! Take it.

Chevy Chase: [ resisting ] No, no, I can\'t.

Steve Martin: Give him a back pill!

Chevy Chase: No! No!

[ Steve holds Chevy back as Martin throws back pills into his mouth ]

Chevy Chase: Enough!! Enough!! [ breaks free ]

Martin Short: Alright!

Steve Martin: Hey, you know what you need?

Chevy Chase: What?

Steve Martin: A drink. Give him a drink!

[ Martin holds a flask over Chevy\'s mouth ]

Chevy Chase: I know, Happy New Year! Alright, alright.

Steve Martin: I\'d like to say something. You know, I haven\'t been on this stage for a couple of years, and I\'m very happy to be here.. it brings back a lot of memories for me.. when the energy was flowing, and, uh.. the old.. uh.. confidence was there.. [ sighs, almost sweating ] Could you guys take care of the show for me, please? [ walks off ]

Chevy Chase: What\'s wrong with him?

Martin Short: Steve?

Chevy Chase: Steve?

Steve Martin: Could you handle the show for me, please? Don\'t embarrass me any more!

Martin Short: [ to Chevy ] I should go and talk to him. Should I go and talk to him? Yeah! [ runs after Steve ] Steve! Steve! Steve! [ passes him in the hall ] Oh! [ stops ] Steve! Steve, what\'s wrong?

Steve Martin: [ upset ] I don\'t know! It\'s just that you guys have all the talent, I don\'t have any talent, I never did! They\'re gonna see right through me, they\'re gonna know I\'m a sham, I was a fake! They\'re gonna say, \"What did we ever see in that buffoon?!\"

Martin Short: What are you talking about?

Steve Martin: I don\'t want to hog anything from you guys!

[ Chevy has finally caught up with them at the end of the hall ]

Martin Short: You\'re not! You are being ridiculous! What would Katherine Hepburn say at a moment like this? Can you imagine what she would say?

Steve Martin: No?

Martin Short: She\'d say.. [ breaks into Katherine Hepburn voice ] \"Listen to me, mister! I\'m telling you that you\'ve done this a thousand times before, darling, and you\'ll do it again! Why do you question it? So I want you to look fear in the eye and say, \"To hell with you! I think I\'ll survive, thank you very much!\"\"

Chevy Chase: You can do it, Steve! You just go out there and be yourself - you\'re you!

Martin Short: Yes!

Steve Martin: Yeah. You\'re right. Just be.. me! Thanks, amigos! [ continues to walk down the hall, reflecting ] What was I thinking about? I\'ve faced a lot tougher things than this. I\'ve gotten through it all, too! I mean, this is nothing! After all, I\'m me!

[ breaks into song ]

\"And nothing\'s gonna stop me!
\'Cause I\'m somebody!
That\'s right! I\'m me!

I\'m not you, or you, or you, or you!
I\'m me!

I\'m gonna climb to the top of the tree!
I\'m gonna ford that stream!
Gonna make all the world mine!
That\'s right!
And nobody\'s gonna stop me!\"

[ the cast and crew now appears behind Steve ]

Steve Martin: Wait a minute.. Or, are they?

Cast: No.. no.. no..

Steve Martin: Could they?

Cast: No.. no.. no.. no.. no.. no..

Steve Martin: Naaaaaahhhhh!!

\"I\'m me! Nobody\'s gonna stop me!
Not you, or you, or you, or you!\"

Stagehand: Sorry, sir, you can\'t come in here.

[ Steve punches him across the face; cast cheers ]

Joe Disco: It\'s him!

Steve Martin: It\'s really, really me!

Cast: Yes, it\'s him, it\'s really him!

Steve Martin:
And you know something folks?
I feel.. [ stops ]
But, wait. What if I\'m a girl?
Why, then, I\'ll be the best darn girl there ever was!
Because I\'m me!

And they\'re ain\'t nobody gonna stop me!
And, you know..
if someone takes a knife, and they stick it in my guts,
and all my guts spill out all over the floor.
You know what I\'m gonna do?

Cast: What? What?

Steve Martin:
I\'m gonna pick up my guts
and stick \'em back inside!
That\'s right, inside me!


\"I\'m gonna climb that tree
I\'m gonna climb that tree
I\'m gonna climb that mountain
I\'m gonna.. climb this ladder!

Put anything in front of me, I\'m gonna climb it!
Ha!

I\'m gonna get off that ladder!
I..\"
Hey, wait! Hold it!

[ stops ]

I\'ve lost my place. Let me see that cue card. Hold it. [ grabs cue card ] \"I\'m me. Yes, me.\" I said, \":Me is me..\" Ah! Here it is!

I\'m me!
You\'re not me!
And you\'re not me!
And you\'re not me!

[ Steve\'s earlier self, complete with white suit and fake arrow through his head rises before him ]

Steve Martin: Well, I don\'t care if you are me, \'cause I\'m the me-est me there ever was!

[ Steve enters Lorne\'s office through a window ]

Lorne Michaels: Are you about through, Steve?

Steve Martin: Almost. Hey, wait a minute! Look! [ poimts to his image on a studio monitor ] Why, it\'s me watching me watching me!

Cast:
\"It\'s him! Yes, it\'s him!
There he goes! There he goes!
He\'s on his way to the place that he\'s go-ingggggg!\"

[ Steve and the cast and crew shimmy to the front of the stage ]

Cast:
\"He\'s really moving! He\'s rolling through now!
And wow, and wow, and wowwww!\"

Steve Martin:
\"Gonna get to where I\'m going
gonna get there fast!
That magical place, it\'s just around the corner!
Why, I can almost smell it!
That place called.. there!\"

[ points to Home Base, where a long-since bored Chevy and Martin are playing Checkers ]

Steve Martin:
\"Yes, world, I\'m here!
\'Cause I\'m meeee-eeeee-eeeee-eeee!!\"

We\'ll be right back!


=========================================================================
http://snltranscripts.jt.org/79/79smono.phtml

Steve Martin\'s Monologue

.....Steve Martin

Steve Martin: Do I look okay? I know what you\'re saying. You\'re saying, \"Hey. Where has Steve been? Haven\'t seen him on \'Saturday Night Live\' in a while..\" [ chuckles ] They want me. They call me every week to do the show. But I have been holding out for a little bit of this.. [ rubs his fingers together ] And so the calls fly back and forth, and I made a deal, and I\'m very happy to be here tonight. I wish I\'d asked for money instead of a little bit of this.. [ rubs his fingers together again ]

You probably heard I was into the comedy thing. Kind of getting out of that now.. into a little more serious deal. And so that\'s why right now I\'d like to talk about \"What.. I.. Believe..\"

[ heavy music starts to play ]

\"What I Believe.\"

I believe in rainbows and puppy dogs and fairy tales.

And I believe in the family - Mom and Dad and Grandma.. and Uncle Tom, who waves his penis.

And I believe 8 of the 10 Commandments.

And I believe in going to church every Sunday, unless there\'s a game on.

And I believe that sex is one of the most beautiful, wholesome and natural things.. that money can buy.

And I believe it\'s derogatory to refer to a woman\'s breasts as \"boobs\", \"jugs\", \"winnebagos\" or \"golden bozos\".. and that you should only refer to them as \"hooters\".

And I believe you should put a woman on a pedestal.. high enough so you can look up her dress.

And I believe in equality, equality for everyone.. no matter how stupid they are, or how much better I am than they are.

And, people say I\'m crazy for believing this, but I believe that robots are stealing my luggage.

And I believe I made a mistake when I bought a 30-story 1-bedroom apartment.

And I believe the Battle of the Network Stars should be fought with guns.

And I believe that Ronald Reagan can make this country what it once was - an arctic region covered with ice.

And, lastly, I believe that of all the evils on this earth, there is nothing worse than the music you\'re listening to right now. That\'s what I believe.

We\'ll be right back.
=================


Steve Martin: For me?! Thank you! Thank you very much! You know, a lot of people come to me, and they say, "Steve.. where do you get your comedy ideas?" Well, I try to draw them from real life, things that happen to you and me every day, things we can all relate to. Like, early in the morning, you're sound asleep, the telephone rings, and you pick up the phone and your voice is all scratchy and gravelly.. and you're going, "Hello-o-o-o.." The voice on the other end of the phone always says, "Oh. Did I assassinate your penguin?" [ audience chuckles lightly ] I can see this happens to you, too! Because you have to have ideas that relate to everyone, that everyone can understand. Not come out here and do things that are over the audience's head, otherwise you may as well be like, uh.. Dimitri in Con Disio Humane.. or Eduardo in "The Possessed".

But the danger in coming out on TV shows and doing omedy monologues and relasing comedy albums - you can be typecast as a comedian. So what I do in the summertime - I'm happy to announce this - I always do Shakespearean festivals. This summer I'll be going down to San Diego for two weeks to do Shakespeare in the Park - We'll be doing King Lear - I'll be playing the part of Little Richard. Then I'll go up to San Franscico for three weeks for Shakepspeare Under the Stars, we'll be doing Romeo & Juliet - I'll be playing the role of Earl the Jacuzzi Salesman.

But I had, a couple of months ago, a very important experience in my life, and I'd like to share it with you. I went to France, and I visited the Cathedreal at Sharte, and, I had a very moving experience. If you've never seen it, it's a magnificent building, probably 400 years old, beautiful stained glass, and, I have to be honest with you, I was very, very moved. And as I was.. writing my name on it with a can of spray paint.. I thought of something I read about a year ago that has completely changed my life, and tonight I would like to share this with you. It's not often in literature that you come across a phrase or sentence that really means a lot to you, and I'd like to read it for you right now. [ pulls paper out of pocket ] "Apply to infested area."

[ audience eventually applauds wildly ]

You know, I'm kind of into magic, and tonight I'd like to try something a little bit different I've been working out at different lcubs. I need a volunteer from the audience. Just anybody who wants to come up would be fine. You, sir. What's your name?

Audience Member: John Aldress.

Steve Martin: John Aldress. Have you ever been on TV before?

Audience Member: Mmm.. a ballgame once, in a long shot.

Steve Martin: So, uh, do you live out here, or whay?

Audience Member: No, I'm from Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Steve Martin: From Lancaster, Pennsylvania, huh? That's real interesting, I think. So, what time do you go to work in the morning?

Audience Member: Oh.. around 8:30.

Steve Martin: [ tugs at man's pocket ] Do you like to have your watch when you go in to work at 8:30? [ holds up the watch ] Where do you work?

Audience Member: I work for the Ralston Purina Company.

Steve Martin: Ralston Purina, huh? You work eight hours.

Audience Member: Well, I travel a lot..

Steve Martin: What time do you get off?

Audience Member: Well, I quit about 4:30..

Steve Martin: [ tugs at man's pocket ] Well, maybe your watch would like to quit! [ holds up watch ] Do you have kids?

Audience Member: Yeah, I have a couple of kids.. three.. three children..

Steve Martin: Three children? [ tugs at man's pocket ] Do you carry pictures of them in your wallet, ladies and gentlemen! [ holds up wallet ] Do you have credit cards, do you carry a checkbook, or what?

Audience Member: Well, I have credit cards. I have a checkbook..

Steve Martin: [ tugs at man's pocket ] Maybe they're in your.. wallet! [ holds up wallet ] Listen, when you're getting dressed in the morning, what do you do, you put on your pants?

Audience Member: I put on my pants and, uh..

Steve Martin: [ tugs at man's pants ] What do you hold them up with? A belt, maybe! [ holds up belt ] Well, what happens if you don't have a belt, what do you do then?

Audience Member: Well.. I wear suspenders -

Steve Martin: [ tugs at man's pants ] Suspenders, maybe! [ holds up suspenders ] You put on your shoes, then what do you put on next?

Audience Member: Well, I put on my socks and some underwear -

Steve Martin: [ tugs at man's pants ] Some underwear! [ holds up underwear ] Do you put on another pair of suspenders, too, maybe? [ holds up suspenders ] And what about some other underwear! [ holds up underwear ] Say, how long have you had that moustache?

Audience Member: About three years.

Steve Martin: About three years? [ rips off moustache ]

Audience Member: Owww!!

Steve Martin: [ pulls on man's clothes ] So, you get dressed, and then you put this shirt on! [ pulls off man's shirt ] And what about this shoe! [ knocks man to the ground, pulls and wrestles to claim his shoe ] We'll be right back!

- posted by sookeyjane 2/17/2003 07:47:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 



Steve in Aspen

Daily Variety
February 10, 2003, Monday
NEWS; Pg. 11
Martin, Cleese pics among laff fest fare
by ANTHONY D'ALESSANDRO

Steve Martin, John Cleese and singer Charlotte Church are among those headlining pics at HBO's U.S. Comedy Arts Film Festival in Aspen, Colo.

Event runs concurrent with the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival Feb. 26-March 2. Fest's opening-night selection will be "I'll Be There." Pic, about a waning '80s rock star who discovers he has a teenage daughter, marks the directorial debut of "Saving Grace" scribe Craig Ferguson and stars Ferguson and Church.

Aspen auds also will get a peak at Warner Bros.' spring comedy "Bringing Down the House," followed by a Q&A session with helmer Adam Shankman and star Martin.

This year's Aspen fests will feature a synthesis of the event's legit and film portions. Of particular note is the 5-Minute Pitch competition, whereby comedians pitch projects to a jury of development execs.

In the "Jamie Kennedy Aspen Experiment," Kennedy will perform standup alongside clips from his film "Malibu's Most Wanted." Sketch group Broken Lizard will present new sketches with sneaks from its latest mockumentary, "Club Dread."

Maintaining its passion for the foreign and offbeat, the film fest will present a series of Middle Eastern comedies, including Elia Suleiman's Palestinian pic "Divine Intervention," and Babak Payami's "Secret Ballot," from Iran.

Arthouse pics receiving their U.S. bows will include Gavin Grazer's "Scorched," starring John Cleese and Alicia Silverstone, and the Oz lawn-bowling comedy "Crackerjack," featuring comedian Mick Molloy.

Rounding out the sked will be the inaugural USCAF College Comedy Short Film Competition as well as a Harold Lloyd retrospective featuring digitally remastered prints.

Overall, the fest will unspool 21 shorts, the same number as last year, along with a record 24 features.



- posted by sookeyjane 2/17/2003 07:43:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 



Books Steve Likes

i've already posted this on stevemartin.com/messageboard, but i'll put it here so it's easier to find.

The San Francisco Chronicle
FEBRUARY 15, 2003, SATURDAY, FINAL EDITION
DAILY DATEBOOK; Pg. D1
Dyer straits; Off-beat 'Yoga' isn't about yoga at all and it's a hoot
James Sullivan

A couple years ago, British writer Geoff Dyer took a chance and persuaded his brand-new girlfriend, Rebecca, to accompany him to Burning Man. Within weeks of their return to London, they were married.

"She's a great yes-sayer," he says. "She says yes to life." By implication, the droll Dyer, in town this week on a book tour, evidently says no. And he does that a great deal -- "griping, grumbling and moaning," as he puts it -- throughout a growing body of distinctly offbeat literature. He has imagined the inner tumult of jazz greats ("But Beautiful"), reimagined a Lost Generation for the '90s ("Paris Trance") and pursued the ghost of D.H. Lawrence or, more precisely, been pursued by it ("Out of Sheer Rage").

If much of his work is unclassifiable -- "neither fish nor fowl," as he suggests -- the title of Dyer's latest book, "Yoga for People Who Can't Be Bothered to Do It," is no help whatsoever.

Yes, it's safe to say it's a meditation of sorts. But it's also something of a travelogue, a series of vignettes from Dyer's restless globe-trotting of the past decade. And there are periodic remnants of the author's original idea, to explore the concept of antiquity, in sections on the ruins of Rome, Libya's Leptis Magna and Detroit.

Teetering between graceful insight and farcical self-absorption (not to mention truth and fiction), Dyer's work is as hard to peg as a 2-inch pinata. He notes that Barnes & Noble is stocking the new book in the humor section, something he finds a little disappointing.

Then again, it's not worth losing sleep over. "Wherever they put it," he says with a hint of a chuckle, "I'd probably feel shortchanged."

If a nagging sense of being shortchanged is the underlying mood of Dyer's oeuvre, the fact of the matter is the books also manage a surprising amount of aberrant optimism. Revelatory moments, little serendipities.

Like the time in Amsterdam when he put his pants on inside out.

"Often I'm assailed by a sense of purposelessness," says the lanky 44-year-old, leaning forward earnestly in a hotel-room armchair, planting his bright blue socks on the carpet. "Maybe what the books record are these incremental things that give your life a sense of purpose."

A moment later, he cuts himself short. "Sorry," he says with a sheepish smile. "We're now petering out to the most incredible banality."

"Yoga for People Who Can't Be Bothered to Do It" comes equipped with a glowing blurb from Steve Martin, a big fan. When "Out of Sheer Rage" came out in 1997, Martin sent the writer a note telling him it was the funniest book he'd ever read.

There is an obvious kinship between the two. Dyer, who now calls Martin a friend, marvels at the comedian's wide range of interests -- art, literature, mathematics, fake noses and glasses.

That kind of indulgence in your curiosity, he thinks, is "what stops you from becoming a grouchy old man."

Before he was married, Dyer spent several years on the fringes of London's rave scene. On nights out he would often begin at a friend's house for a genteel social dinner, then end up in some after-hours warehouse, sweating to an electronic beat.

The culture shock felt just right. "It seemed to me I didn't want to live in either ghetto," he says. "But you start putting those things together and you say, 'Oh, this is the makings of a good life.'

"You don't want to be reading Rilke all the time. And you certainly don't want to have a life just sitting around smoking pot and watching sport on telly." To each diversion its own time.

And yet it's not as simple as that. In the new book, Dyer recalls a mounting period of despair. His lack of inspiration, as it so often does, quickly became an inspiration all its own.

"I was becoming interested in Frank O'Hara's 'I do this I do that' poems and briefly considered founding a counter-movement along the lines of 'I did not do this and I did not do that,' " he writes. "Predictably, I did not do this."

In "Out of Sheer Rage," Dyer forecast that he would lose all interest in Lawrence, the book's obsession, as soon as he completed the project. Old-school jazz, he reports, hasn't compelled him much since he finished "But Beautiful" (1992).

"It's a Miles Davis-type thing, where he completely gets the hang of doing lovely ballads and then stops playing them."

Such rashness, he adds with a smile, "has been a real lesson in how not to build a career."

What, exactly, has he put behind him upon finishing "Yoga for People Who Can't Be Bothered to Do It"? Well that's a good question, Dyer says, taking a moment to compose his thoughts.

"I suppose the answer should be that I feel less restless, more willing to stay in," he ventures, "but that's not true. There's still a lot of the world to see.
- posted by sookeyjane 2/17/2003 07:32:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 



To all those Steve Martin fans out there who have trouble reaching my other website, this will be where I update info or put the things you've requested to see.
- posted by sookeyjane 2/16/2003 01:44:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS