Okay, it’s still 6:54 AM here, but, damn, I feel a hell of a lot better after just a few hours sleep. As such, let’s go ahead and take a look at those HBO panels from yesterday:
As You Like It, Kenneth Branaugh’s latest Shakespearean adaptation:
Branaugh found it very easy to cast Kevin Kline in the role of Jacques, it seems. “(He has) vast Shakespearean experience, as you know, a brilliant dramatic actor, a very, very funny man, and is, in life, intellectually curious. And as with all funny men, I would say – without trying to tell my friend who he is – a kind of disposition to a certain kind of melancholy and philosophical introspection. But I just thought he was a great actor.”
Kline’s response? “I disagree.”
Kline isn’t the only American in the production; he shares that honor with Bryce Dallas Howard…even if she doesn’t see it that way. “I would have to say that Kevin Kline is almost like an honorary Brit when it comes to Shakespeare, (whereas) I felt like a little bit of a cowboy,” said Howard. “Like, it’s, you know, a little rough with the language, and I didn’t really have a lot of confidence with it, initially. But under the guidance of Ken, and everyone else that was involved, I allowed myself to just enjoy the experience and do my best. But it was definitely initially intimidating, perhaps being an American, but even more than that, just being someone who is literally at the start of my career. I haven’t had as much experience as I would like to.”
The role of Orlando is taken by relative newcomer David Oyelowo, who had a serious attack of nerves when he discovered that A) he had to go to Branaugh’s house to audition, and B) he had to audition with Branaugh. “You were reading the other lines,” he said, turning to Branaugh, “and my saliva just turned to sand. I mean, there I was, auditioning with Henry V, Iago, Benedict, Coriolanus…and it just…I mean, you probably won’t remember this, but the lines…they just completely went out of my head. You were so gracious; you just went, ‘Okay, let’s do that again…'”
Tell Me You Love Me: Okay, I suck, but during this panel, I took the opportunity to finally check into my room at the hotel and unpack a little bit. I’m sure it’s gonna be a great show – there’s a lot of sex, if that helps convince you any – but I hadn’t had a chance to catch any of the episodes yet, so I didn’t have anything to ask, anyway.
Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq:
This documentary, hosted by James Gandolfini, takes a look at the effects that the war has had on soldiers who’ve been wounded during the fighting; it tries not to make a specific political statement, but, of course, the revelations on the screen make it an instant anti-war piece. Gandolfini was in attendance, but he dodged just about every question he was asked about his own opinions on the war (he didn’t even want to answer questions about the experience of interviewing these soldiers had changed him, so insistent was he that the focus remain on them); fortunately, the soldiers themselves were not so hushmouthed. I mean, they reinerated that it wasn’t a political film, but, for instance, US Army Sgt. Jonathan Bartlett got in his jabs when he said, “All the political stuff in the interview, it was all taken out, because it’s not the point,” then added, “Bush has no idea what he’s talking about when it comes to veterans. He doesn’t…I mean, we’re numbers to him. We’re tools. He doesn’t care. He has no idea.” Meanwhile, however, US Army Sgt. Bryan Anderson said outright, “I don’t have any political views,” so it varied from person to person. Ultimately, though, it was US Army First Lt. Dawn Halfaker who said it best when, after being asked what she’d tell a potential Army recruit if they walked in the door right now, responded, “I’d tell them to watch this documentary.” It sounds like a promotional cop-out, but, no, trust me: “Alive Day Memories” will turn a lot of heads.
Curb Your Enthusiasm:
Easily the funniest panel so far…but what would you expect when Larry David, Jeff Garlin, and Cheryl Hines get on stage together? It was hilarious from start to finish. David never hesitated to call a schmuck a schmuck, at one point yelling at a reporter who had accused him of just playing himself, “I’m portraying you, schmucko! That’s you, too, not just me! I’m Jesus Christ! I’m sacrificing myself for the betterment of humanity!”
David also laid out a picture of his childhood which, if he was kidding (and you like to think that he was), was funny. “Nobody told me to believe in myself,” he declared, “and even if they did, I wouldn’t have believed them. So I never believed in myself. I suppose I have to now to some degree, but, believe me, it’s still not that easy. My mother said to me, ‘You’re not special. You’re not special, Larry.’ She begged me to take a Civil Service test to work in the post office. That was her dream for me: to work in the post office, deliver the mail. And I thought, ‘You know, maybe she’s right. That’s not such a bad job.’ But I didn’t take the test, and, I don’t know, I was funny, and one day, somebody said, ‘You should be a comedian.'”
After fielding several questions in a row, David issued an executive order that he wouldn’t answer any more questions until someone asked something of either Garlin or Hines. Both immediately begged off (Garlin: “Nobody has to ask me shit”), but David was insistent. Finally, one reporter attempted to break the stand-off by observing, “So, Jeff, you, uh, got a new hairstyle?” Garlin was stunned. “Oh, shit,” he said. “That’s what they came up with.”
Personally, my favorite moment was…well, it was when I asked a question. I asked Garlin, “Jeff, if there hadn’t been a sixth season of ‘Curb,’ would we be seeing you in ‘Daddy Day Camp’?” And, boy, did I get an answer…
“No,” he said, matter-of-factly. “They didn’t offer me enough money. And to be in a sequel to ‘Daddy Day Care,’ you need to be paid a lot of money. They offered the job to me, and I laughed. It was just not enough money. I’m very pragmatic, you know. It’s, like, you’ll do certain things because…like, ‘Curb’ is the greatest job I’ll ever have because I’m being paid well, and I’m doing, I’m involved with good work. I made a movie that’s coming out in September and that movie, called ‘I Want Someone To Eat Cheese With,’ I got paid by taking out a second mortgage to pay my bills. That’s how much I got paid. So if I’m going to do something like ‘Daddy Day Camp,’ I must get paid a great deal of money, because there’s no joy in that.
And in conclusion…
Reporter: One last question. Why do you…
Larry: Two? Why do you get two?
Jeff: He’s…
Larry: No, fuck this guy. There’s a lot of people here. (To reporter) Shut up. That’s enough from you.
Like I said: hilarious.
Flight of the Conchords:
Unfortunately, the transcript of this one wasn’t available as of last night. I’m hoping it’ll be there today. But the guys were funny. They did not, however, sing any songs. Damn.
