Flaming Lips performing tonight on “Tonight Show”
Oklahoma City-based psychedelic rockers The Flaming Lips will appear tonight on “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien.” The show airs at 10:35 p.m. on NBC (KFOR-4 in Oklahoma City).
The band releases its first double-album, “Embryonic,” today.
Conan’s other guests tonight include Ice-T and one of my all-time favorite comedians, Eddie Izzard.
-BAM
Eddie Izzard completes multiple-marathon charity project
Eddie Izzard (Associated Press photo)
Eddie Izzard, my favorite British standup comic, has once again proved himself a completely cool guy by completing 43 marathons in seven weeks as part of a demanding charity run.
According to the Associated Press, Izzard, 47, finished his 1,100-mile trek across Britain on Tuesday, stumbling across the finish line at London’s rain-soaked Trafalgar Square.
The comic says he managed the feat with only five weeks of training. He ran for the Sport Relief charity, and a spokeswoman says he was followed by a BBC film crew the whole time.
After finishing his final marathon the AP reported that Izzard told waiting reporters: “I feel dead.”
To read about Izzard’s running journey, go to www.eddieizzard.com/blog.
Next month, the comedian will continue with this “Stripped European Tour 2009.” He is planning for January his six-city “Stripped Too: The Big Intimacy Tour – U.S. Tour 2010.” The closest the U.S. tour will come is to Dallas on Jan. 21 to American Airlines Center.
Presale for the show started earlier this week; tickets go onsale to general public at 10 a.m. Sunday. For tickets or information, go to www.eddieizzard.com.
My husband and I went with friends to one of Izzard’s shows last year in Austin, Texas, and it was incredibly entertaining. I highly recommend that fans make their plans now to see the show in Dallas.
-BAM
Filming begins on “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader”
Ben Barnes reprises his role as Prince Caspian in “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.” Filming on the third film in the franchise started earlier this week.
“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” the third in the epic series of films based on the bestselling books by C.S. Lewis, started principal photography this week on location in Queensland, Australia, according to a news release from Business Wire.
The production, a joint venture between 20th Century Fox Film Corp. and Walden Media, continues the franchise that started with the wonderful, 2005 release, “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” which won an Oscar for makeup, and its great 2008 follow-up, “Prince Caspian.”
In “Dawn Treader,” Edmund and Lucy Pevensie (Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes), along with their pesky cousin Eustace Scrubb (Will Poulter, Son of Rambow”), find themselves swallowed into a painting and on to a fantastic Narnian ship headed for the very edges of the world. Joining forces once again with their royal friend Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes) and the warrior mouse Reepicheep (voice of Eddie Izzard), they are whisked away on a mysterious mission to the Lone Islands, and beyond.
On this bewitching voyage that will test their hearts and spirits, the trio will face magical Dufflepuds, sinister slave traders, roaring dragons and enchanted merfolk. Only an entirely uncharted journey to Aslan’s Country – a voyage of destiny and transformation for each of those aboard the Dawn Treader – can save Narnia, and all the astonishing creatures in it, from an unfathomable fate.
Veteran filmmaker Michael Apted (”The World Is Not Enough,” “Gorillas in the Mist,” “Coal Miner’s Daughter”) will direct new Narnia venture. Several of the principals are returning, including Liam Neeson as the voice of Aslan the Lion.
According to the release, supporting cast includes several veterans of the Aussie film world, including Gary Sweet (”Stingers”), Bruce Spence (”Road Warrior”), Arthur Angel (”Ghost Rider”) and Kiwi native Shane Rangi, back for his third go-round in Lewis’ fantastical world (donning the guise of a Minotaur, as he did in the two previous films).
While he won’t direct the third chapter, filmmaker Andrew Adamson will return as one of the film’s three producers, reteaming with his colleagues from the first two “Narnia” films, Mark Johnson and Philip Steuer.
Released in 1952, “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” is the third of Lewis’ seven-book “Chronicles of Narnia” series. Published between 1950-56 and long regarded as one of literature’s most enduring and imaginative classics, Lewis’ books have sold more than 100 million copies in more than 50 different languages, making it the second biggest book series the world over. In addition to the third novel, the Oxford scholar wrote six additional books, including “Prince Caspian” (1951), “The Silver Chair” (1953), “The Horse and His Boy” (1954), “The Magician’s Nephew” (1955), “The Last Battle” (1956) and the story that launched the series in 1950, “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.”
Production on “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” will take place entirely in Queensland, Australia, primarily at the Warner Roadshow Studio facility in Gold Coast, which houses the Southern Hemisphere’s largest water tank facility, crucial to the production’s needs. Filming will conclude in November 2009, with a year-long post-production schedule leading to the film’s global release in December 2010.
I’m happy that shooting is underway for “Dawn Treader,” since the future of the franchise was at one point a big question mark. Though the combined global box-office gross for the first two Narnia films exceeded $1.2 billion, Disney declined to partner with Walden Media on the third film after “Prince Caspian” didn’t meet box-office expectations. Of course, Disney helped create that situation by moving the sequel from December (the time frame that worked so well for the first film) to May, which sandwiched the sequel between the blockbusters “Iron Man” and “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.”
I’m a big fan of the Narnia films and hope “Dawn Treader” will be an entertaining cinematic gift for the 2010 holidays.
-BAM
Video: Eddie Izzard on “Star Trek”
“Star Trek” Week continues here at BAM’s Blog, and today I’m sharing a snippet of “Trek”-related hilarity from one of my favorite comedians, Eddie Izzard.
In his 1994 stand-up video “Unrepeatable,” Izzard performs an uproarious bit about the original “Trek” TV series. In it, he makes fun of Dr. McCoy’s overly dramatic speeches, imagines what would happen if someone from the Enterprise’s accounting department joined a landing party and suggests other settings for phasers besides just boring ol’ stun and kill. (I particularly like the “ice cream van nearby” setting.)
The video is from YouTube, and I highly recommend renting, or better, buying “Unrepeatable.” The bit continues some bad language.
-BAM
New releases
The latest James Bond movie, “Quantum of Solace,” comes out on DVD today, and if you haven’t seen it, you should watch it ASAP. However, if you haven’t seen the 2006 reboot of “Casino Royale,” you should plan on a DVD double-feature, since “Quantum of Solace” picks up just minutes after “Casino Royale.”
Despite my early misgivings, Daniel Craig is an awesome Bond. He’s not a grand as Sean Connery, but really, who is?
For more new entertainment offerings, check out this list of the week’s CD, DVD and book releases, from Amazon.com, VideoETA.com and BarnesandNoble.com:
CDs
Decemberists, “The Hazards of Love.”
Indigo Girls, “Poseidon and the Bitter Bug.”
Papa Roach, “Metamorphosis.”
Martina McBride, “Shine.”
Pearl Jam, “Ten” (Deluxe edition CD/DVD set).
Hannah Montana, “Hannah Montana: The Movie Soundtrack.”
DVDs
Andy Richter Controls the Universe: The Complete Series
Big Stan
Bolt
The Cake Eaters
Craig Ferguson: A Wee Bit O’ Revolution
Happily N’Ever After 2: Snow White
In Treatment
Pearl Jam: Ten
Quantum of Solace
The Riches: Season 2
Secrets of the Furious Five
Star Wars The Clone Wars: A Galaxy Divided
Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter
Books
“True Detectives” by Jonathan Kellerman.
“City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments Series No. 3)” by Cassandra Clare.
“Happens Every Day: An All-Too-True Story” by Isabel Gillies.
“Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto” by Mark R. Levin.
“The Long Fall” by Walter Mosley.
“Pursuit” by Karen Robards.
“Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi: Outcast” by Aaron Allston.
-BAM
“The Riches” now broke
One of my favorite comedians, Eddie Izzard, is no longer on TV.
A spokesman for FX confirmed last week that the cable network has canceled “The Riches” after just two seasons, according to EW.com.
The show starred Izzard and Oscar-nominated actress Minnie Driver as a con-artist couple who assumes the identity of a wealthy pair. Driver was nominated for an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her performance on the show.
“The Riches” was one of the many quality shows to fall victim to last winter’s writers’ strike. It debuted in 2007 with a 13-season episode, pretty typical for HBO-style serial programs, but its second season included only seven and wasn’t promoted very well.
Hopefully, Izzard will find another outlet soon for his quirky humor and improving acting chops.
-BAM
“Valkyrie” flies back to 2008
The release date for the World War II period film “Valkyrie,” starring Tom Cruise, has once again been moved.
Variety is reporting today that MGM has moved the film back to 2008, with a new opening date of Dec. 26.
It was originally scheduled for June 27 release, then shifted to a height-of-awards-season October date and finally pushed into a new Feb. 13, 2009, slot. This makes me wonder how long this particular release date will last, but for now, it’s apparently what we’ve got.
The trade magazine quotes unnamed “sources close to events” who say the move to a holiday release date was prompted by “purely commercial reasons” after a well-received screening of the movie. Awards consideration was not a factor, according to these sources.
The move also could be an attempt to capitalize on Cruise’s widely praised cameo in Ben Stiller’s comedy “Tropic Thunder,” which opened today.
“Valkyrie” is directed by Bryan Singer (”The Usual Suspects”) and is based on the true story of a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler that unfolded during World War II. It co-stars Kenneth Branagh, Tom Wilkinson and Eddie Izzard.
As Variety also notes, the decision to move the release date yet again came on the same day that Paula Wagner announced that she is resigning as CEO of United Artists. She will retain an ownership interest in the studio, which she and Cruise co-own with MGM. You can read more on that story by clicking here.
“Valkyrie” is the second film the revived United Artists has made. Cruise and Wagner produced it, and MGM will distribute it.
-BAM
Getting with the program with Eddie Izzard
We picked up a commemorative “Stripped” program at the Eddie Izzard show Saturday night in Austin. Most of the 18 pages in the oversize booklet were dedicated to Lorenzo Aguis’ slick and sexy photos of Izzard (love that goatee) and William Smith’s rather revealing interview with the comic.
Some interesting factoids Izzard shared in his lengthy interview with Smith:
- He doesn’t play a character in his stand-up routines; that’s just him in a “really switched on state.” His often-proclaimed interest in joining the army when he was a kid motivated him to take a “military” approach to his career, and part of that was to start playing himself when he became a street performer, his first step toward his career in stand-up and acting.
- He takes inspiration fellow Brit Hugh Laurie, who started out in English comedy and now is acclaimed for his dramatic role in the American TV series “House.” But Izzard says he thinks it’s easier for people to be introduced to him through his dramatic work in TV and films and then accept him as a comic, rather than for them to discover him through stand-up and then accept him in dramas.
- For the FX series “The Riches,” in which he plays the lead role of Wayne Malloy, the cast (including fellow Brit Minnie Driver who plays Wayne’s wife) shoots a 45-minute drama in just seven days. He said working on the drama has been “great Ninja training” for his stand-up; he feels his acting experience has given him a better work ethic and more confidence onstage.
- He says the character of Wayne, an American grifter, is about 60 percent him, 40 percent “other.” The main trait they share: The ability to improvise.
- If it sounds like Izzard is adlibbing through his stand-up, that’s because he is. Through the years – he’s in his 20th as a comic – he’s developed the concept of “molten material.” Basically, he comes up with broad ideas and then just riffs on them onstage.
- He decision on this tour to drop the girly outfits – he referred to himself in the show as an “off-duty transvestite” – was not just because he is “in blokey mode” with his character on “The Riches.” It also came about because some people thought he was wearing a costume rather than just a dress and believed that “the clothing was an important thing for the comedy, which it isn’t.”
“So now I’m going to tour without make-up. … Well, maybe a bit of eye-liner, but less than Keith Richards,” he told Smith.
- A documentary about Izzard’s work to cross over from Britain to America is close to being completed.
- Izzard plays German Gen. Erich Fellgiebel in Bryan Singer’s upcoming World War II period film “Valkyrie,” which also stars Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh and Tom Wilkinson. Smith’s story reveals a little more about who is character is: the general in charge of all communications for Nazi Germany.
- Before he traveled to Texas for a show in Dallas and three shows in Austin, Izzard performed June 3 at the Orpheum Theatre in Memphis, Tenn. That’s the same city where he did his first American gig in 1986. Instead of playing big, sold-out theaters as on the “Stripped” tour, he was working as a street performer back then.
-BAM
Maybe he should “Dress to Kill” hecklers
On Saturday night, loyal reader 3D offered this comment on my post “My take: Eddie Izzard “Stripped” in Austin”:
“Who in their right mind would go to one of Eddie’s shows and then heckle? That’s just madness!”
My response:
I also couldn’t believe that not one but two people decided to just shout out from the audience during Eddie Izzard’s second of three shows this weekend in Austin. Neither one of the hecklers said anything mean, but I contend that heckling in any form is both disrespectful and distracting.
The first heckler spoke up while Eddie was talking about monkeys; she shouted out twice “The monkey is on the branch,” a reference to Eddie’s bit about learning French from “Dress to Kill.” He handled it like a pro, sarcastically inviting people to just shout out bits from his DVDs at random times and making good-natured fun of the faux-French way she said the line. Still, it was an awkward moment that interrupted his flow.
Apparently, his sarcasm was lost on some guy in the upper balcony, and he became the second offender. (And after Eddie repeatedly said during the show that he has told Europeans that most Americans get irony. Sad.) Eddie was doing one of his riffs on language, a favorite topic, commenting that instead of the confusing “thou” and “thee” of old English, we now just use the word “you” in all instances, including singular and plural.
The second heckler shouted down “Y’all. We use y’all,” essentially correcting and interrupting Eddie during his own show. Did the guy never think that Eddie was maybe going to make that very point himself?
Eddie works a lot of regional humor into his shows, he’s a pretty smart guy, and it isn’t exactly a well-kept secret that Oklahoma-Texas residents say “y’all.” But we’ll never know now if that’s where he was going with that thread because, again, interruption to flow.
Sure, it was funny to hear Eddie say “y’all” in his British accent, but I would have preferred to listen to him roll with the topic he threw out there. I mean, can you give him a chance to do his own show?
When people describe Eddie’s comedy as “conversational,” that means his shows are very loose and cover weird topics you might get into a conversation about with a friend. It doesn’t mean that you should actually attempt a dialogue while he’s trying to work and the rest of us are trying to listen and watch.
-BAM
My take: Eddie Izzard “Stripped” in Austin
AUSTIN, TEXAS – From French giraffes and African tigers to Spartan sheep and rocks with GPS, British comic Eddie Izzard covered a wide array of bizarre topics in his trademark rambling fashion Saturday night at the Paramount Theatre.
The sold-out crowd laughed, clapped and howled through most of the two-hour show, titled “Stripped.” The audience rewarded Izzard with standing ovations after the main show and brief encore.
Izzard took the stage bowing, bouncing and dancing, though he said a hurt foot limited the amount of frantic footwork in his routine. But he recommended dancing as a great public speaking tool, claiming that even if you don’t know what you’re talking about, you at least exude confidence when you’re dancing.
As he dispensed advice and factoids, the comic/actor told audience members they could say an “off-duty transvestite told me that.” Instead of dressing in women’s clothing, as in his stand-up DVD performances, he wore very appropriate cowboy boots, jeans, a red and white striped shirt, a tuxedo jacket and a neat goatee.
In his typical fashion, Izzard fleetly jumped from topic to topic throughout his show, often with no segue, and then winding back around to an earlier subject. He sometimes wrapped up bits with his signature lines “so, yeah” or “all this is true,” to the delight of fans.
In one of the show’s highlights, Izzard mused at length about how giraffes communicate since they have no vocal cords, theorizing that they talked through coughing or even used charades. The giraffes in question were being stalked by a tiger - which he acknowledged didn’t really belong in Africa – and one was trying to get a warning to the other. In Izzard’s oddball world, these herbivores decide to hide from the predator by posing as the Eiffel Tower. It all made sense – sort of – if you were there.
As usual, the self-described techno-junkie waxed at length about computers, singing the praises of “Mr. and Mrs. Wikipedia” and the ability to instantly learn about virtually any topic on the Internet. He even pulled out his iPhone to look up how to make jam, which led to ramblings on the jam-making process, the difference between jam and preserves and an accidental link to the Wikipedia page for the band The Jam.
He followed it up with some spot-on jokes about the software service agreements, which force people to lie because no one reads them but everyone clicks “yes,” and software update letdown, when you accept an upgrade but can’t notice the difference after installation.
Naturally – for Izzard, at least – that line of thought lead to an extended bit about the Stone Age. While we think of it as backward, the comic said it must have been considered very cutting edge at the time to use rocks to kill bison (”or buffalo, same thing.”) And what if the rocks got upgrades like those software updates – making them harder, less flaky and perhaps even equipping them with GPS.
True to form, Izzard’s patter frequently ran to historical events and religious practices. Particularly hilarious were his jokes about the Spartans, whose whole communities must have been tough as nails – even their sheep.
Although I don’t agree with most of Izzard’s opinions on religion, his ponderings about what a church for dinosaurs would be like were hilarious.
It also produced one of my favorite new Izzardisms: “The triceratops is like a cross between Hitler and Bugs Bunny.” He came to that conclusion because the dinosaur has fearsome spikes but only eats vegetables.
Despite the momentum-stopping effect of a couple of well-meaning but still annoying hecklers, Izzard was able to keep his flow, proving that his burgeoning acting career has taken away nothing from his stand-up skills.
-BAM
P.S. As I was writing this review in the Stephen F. Bar inside the Stephen F. Austin Intercontinental Hotel, which is next door to the Paramount, Izzard walked through. He continued on outside and set up court at a terrace table, creating quite a stir among the patrons. For dedicated Izzard fans like my husband, our friends and myself, it was a great way to cap the evening.
