Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - November 2, 2021, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE C3 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM C3TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2021 ARTS ● LIFE I ENTERTAINMENT Succession star Brian Cox trashes Depp, Seagal, Tarantino in memoir UNLIKE patriarch Logan Roy in Suc- cession, the HBO series star Brian Cox is not known for holding his tongue. The 75-year-old actor is not shying away from expressing his personal and harsh views on major Hollywood stars such as Johnny Depp, Steven Seagal and Quentin Tarantino, among others, in his new memoir Putting the Rabbit in the Hat, which was released Thurs- day in the U.K. USA Today received an advanced reader’s copy of the book, which is due out in the North America on Jan. 18. The Emmy-winning actor, the first to play Dr. Hannibal Lecter on the big screen in 1986’s Manhunter, writes that he turned down a role to play the Governor in the Pirates of the Caribbe- an franchise. Cox writes that the part “would have been a money-spinner” but would have been “thankless” in the franchise “that’s very much the ‘John- ny Depp as Jack Sparrow’ show.” Cox then takes a jab at Depp, and his superstar-making role in Tim Burton’s beloved 1990 drama Edward Scissor- hands. Brian Cox on Johnny Depp: ‘Overblown, overrated’ “Personable though I’m sure he is,” Depp “is so overblown, so overrated,” Cox writes. The actor continues: “I mean, Edward Scissorhands. Let’s face it, if you come on with hands like that and pale, scarred-face make-up, you don’t have to do anything. And he didn’t. And subsequently, he’s done even less.” “But people love him,” Cox adds, before pointing out Depp’s recent trou- bles in the aftermath of his tumultuous divorce from ex-wife Amber Heard. “They don’t love him so much these days of course.” Cox says Steven Seagal is ‘ludicrous in real life’ The Scottish actor goes further diss- ing his 1996 The Glimmer Man leading star Steven Seagal, writing the action star was “as ludicrous in real life as he appears onscreen.” “He radiates a studied serenity, as though he’s on a higher plane to the rest of us.” writes Cox. “And while he’s certainly on a different plane, no doubt about that, it’s probably not a higher one.” Cox adds that Seagal suffers from the “Donald Trump syndrome of thinking himself far more capable and talented than he actually is, seeming- ly oblivious to the fact that an army of people are helping to prop up his delusion.” Cox had praise for director Spike Lee from their work in 2002’s 25th Hour, referring to Lee as “simply one of the best directors I’ve ever worked with.” But he didn’t feel the same about fel- low 25th Hour co-star Edward Norton, who Cox calls “a nice lad but a bit of a pain in the arse because he fancies himself as a writer-director.” No one was spared in Cox’s memoir, not even American director Tarantino. “I find his work meretricious. It’s all surface. Plot mechanics in place of depth. Style where there should be sub- stance. I walked out of Pulp Fiction,” Cox writes, although he adds that he did sit through Once Upon a Time In Hollywood. “… it wasn’t as bad as I’d feared, it still wasn’t good enough to convert me,” he writes. While he claims to be a “Tarantino refusenik,” Cox writes he’d still star in a Tarantino movie. “If the phone rang, I’d do it.” But Cox did have kind words for the late Die Hard actor and “great friend” Alan Rickman. The Succession actor describes him as “one of the sweetest, kindest, nicest, and most incredibly smart men I’ve ever met.” “Prior to acting, he’d been a graphic designer and he brought the consid- ered, laser-like precision of that pro- fession to his work,” he writes. So what gives? Cox explained his memoir-writing philosophy to The Scotsman. “You really have to tell the truth. Shoot the devil,” Cox said. “It was ca- thartic, necessary. It was important for me because I’ve reached a certain age and I wanted to look at certain things in the light of one’s experience and be as truthful as I could be. Of course, there are things I left out.” —USA Today BRYAN ALEXANDER Eugene, Dan Levy land separate streaming shows TORONTO — Schitt’s Creek father-son co-creators Eugene and Dan Levy are getting their own shows on different streaming services. Apple TV Plus says the elder Levy will host and executive produce The Reluctant Traveler. The globe-trotting series will see the Hamilton-born comedy star explore re- markable hotels and the people, places and cultures surrounding them. No release date has been announced for the new series, which will be pro- duced by British television and media group Twofour. Meanwhile, HBO Max has ordered the unscripted cooking competition series The Big Brunch from Toron- to-raised Dan Levy and Califor- nia-based Boardwalk Pictures. Levy created the show, which gives “undiscovered culinary voices” from the United States the chance to share their stories and their business dreams. It’s slated to premiere next year. Dan Levy said he has “an almost obsessive love of food” and created the show for “the local culinary heroes of America who deserve a spotlight.” “That, and who doesn’t want to watch maple syrup being poured slowly over a golden stack of perfectly cooked, crème brûlée inspired French toast?” Levy added in a news release Monday. Dan Levy has his sights set on anoth- er streamer: Netflix, which carried the CBC sitcom Schitt’s Creek globally. In September, the streamer an- nounced a deal in which he’ll develop scripted content and other projects for its film and TV libraries. — The Canadian Press EVAN AGOSTINI / INVISION Actors Dan Levy, left, and his father Eugene Levy are both moving to streaming. PETER KRAMER / HBO Brian Cox doesn’t hold back. 22 Minutes touts more diverse cast, writers T HIS Hour Has 22 Minutes is often billed as Canada’s longest-running scripted entertainment series, but this year it’s eager to tout everything that’s new — in particular a larger, younger and more diverse writ- ing staff and cast than ever before. Five of the CBC comedy’s seven performers have joined over the last two seasons and with the departure of Cathy Jones last spring, this will be the first without a founding cast member, notes executive producer Mike Allison. “It does seem different in an exciting way,” says Allison. “I think the show is staying true to what it has been while also adjusting to what it needs to be in the future.” Premiering in 1993, the Hali- fax-based sketch comedy made stars out of brash Newfoundlanders Mary Walsh, Cathy Jones, Greg Thomey and Rick Mercer. Turnovers in the cast and writing talent have kept audiences laughing and prime ministers in check into a 29th season. This year Allison says writers and cast members hail from British Co- lumbia, Alberta, Ontario, and Atlantic Canada. With an expanded 24-episode order, the extra hands are welcome. Allison says he and others looked at more than 160 submissions before being won over by the latest addition of Stacey McGunnigle of Alliston, Ont. The 35-year-old millennial threw everything she had into her audition and could not believe it when she, as they say in the business, “booked it off the tape.” “I was like completely overwhelmed and excited and shocked,” McGunnigle says of joining the cast. “I’m a small- town gal. I didn’t know that this was a possibility for a career, you know?” Previously, the York University grad- uate funnelled her comedy energy into improv stage work at The Second City, where she earned a best breakout art- ist accolade. The Regulars, a comedy podcast she co-hosted, has topped two million listeners. She’s also performed in Montreal at the Just for Laughs festival and was recently featured on Roast Battle Canada on the CTV Com- edy Channel. McGunnigle names Julia Louis-Drey- fus’s preening character Elaine Benes on Seinfeld as a considerable influence, as well as sketch performers Gilda Radner from Saturday Night Live and Catherine O’Hara from her SCTV days. But she also grew up admiring 22 Minutes trailblazers Walsh and Jones, calling them each “the Swiss Army knife of comedy,” and praises past cast member Susan Kent as “an absolute powerhouse.” Last season, 26-year-old Aba Amuquandoh got a similar call up after starting as a featured player. This year she’s one of the main deskers as well as a writer on the show. She names Wanda Sykes, Whitney Cummings and Cedric the Entertainer as big influences. “It’s important for people on TV to be contributing not only with their face being on screens but also with their opinions and talking about themselves and their cultures,” says Amuquandoh, who was born in Nigeria and raised in Brampton, Ont. “I’m really happy to be here.” Prior to 22 Minutes, Amuquandoh studied with Second City and per- formed with the award-winning troupe The Sketchersons in Toronto. Later this season she will host the upcoming CBC series Best in Miniature, a reality se- ries where couples build tiny versions of their dream homes. The main players join eight other writers on the series, including super- vising producer Heidi Brander and head writer Adam Christie. Back in 2003 when Mark Critch was brought in exclusively to write, he was one of only four in the writers’ room. Counting the four main players who also write, plus three other on-air play- ers, there are now 15 people contribut- ing as writers on the series — the most ever. The on-camera roster includes Brandon Ash-Mohammed and Leonard Chan, two Toronto-based perform- er-writers reporting from the field, as well as Chris Wilson, returning from last season. There are other familiar faces — Trent McClellan, who joined the show as a writer/performer in 2016, and Critch, who, after 18 seasons, is now the second longest-serving cast mem- ber ever behind recent retiree Jones. “I’m the guy in the band who was in the original band,” jokes the 47-year- old St. John’s native. Critch just wrapped the filming of season 1 of Son of a Critch, a sitcom based on his memoir which premieres Jan. 4 on CBC. He can afford to moon- light now that new talent has been added to 22 Minutes. So far, viewers seem to be tuning in, with September’s season premiere like- ly boosted by Canada’s federal election call. According to CBC, viewership among those aged 25 to 54 were higher than they had been since the U.S. presi- dential election in November 2020. Still, the 22 Minutes average over the first four episodes this season is just under 400,000 total viewers — mid-lev- el for the network. More impressive of late has been the climb in the social media score. A recent introduction on TikTok saw 27 million video views accumulate within the first seven days. Having a strong presence on social platforms is vital, says Allison, who suggests the show is getting younger as it grows older. Wilson, too, feels a shift in the show. The Second City main stage veteran worked in Toronto with McGunnigle and knew Amuquandoh from the stand- up comedy scene. “There’s a fresh energy,” he says of the vibe this season. Helping is the fact more audience members are being allowed into studio tapings as pandemic safety procedures ease. “People are just very eager to laugh, it feels,” he says. — The Canadian Press CBC comedy enters its 29th season BILL BRIOUX RUSSELL BAER / THE CANADIAN PRESS Mark Critch, (from left) Stacey McGunnigle, Trent McClellan and Aba Amuquandoh are cast members for the 29th season of This Hour Has 22 Minutes. C_03_Nov-02-21_FP_01.indd 3 2021-11-01 6:06 PM ;