While I have never actually paid money to see or hear Ricky Gervais, I like to think I’m his biggest fan. I’ve watched Extras and The Office on DVD from Netflix and downloaded all of his free podcasts, but things are about to change in a big way. In 2009, I’ll have to plop down some dinero to see his movie This Side of the Truth. Ricky is co-directing and starring in a movie about a society where no one knows how to lie… except him.
The place for the best information on Gervais’ movie is Gervais’ website RickyGervais.com. He blogs regularly about casting and the general status of the shoot. He also puts up bits on interviews he’s done about the film. His latest is an interview with the local paper in Lowell, Massachusetts, where he is filming. While the interview isn’t full of information about the movie itself, it’s still pretty funny.
Luckily, Gervais confirms that his movie will make you laugh. “It's a comedy. Some say it's romantic comedy, others (say it's a) high-concept comedy. First and foremost, it's a comedy. It's an excuse for jokes and drama. I want people to go there thinking they're seeing the funniest film of the year.” Sounds good, I’d like to see the funniest film of the year. He also points out that you have to care about someone before you can laugh at them. “You can't laugh at someone if you don't care about them. I can't laugh at someone I don't like. Hitler could tell the best joke ever and I wouldn't find it funny.” Well, I guess that makes sense. Although there are tons of big names in the movie, Gervais focuses on the nobodies. “We got great new people we discovered. You know, there's 74 separate characters in this film. We cast starting from scratch just like we did with The Office and Extras. There are a lot of unknowns in this. They're brilliant and they're great. For every famous person, there's three unknown.” Another good thing, I hate it when I know who is in the movie I’m watching.
The rest of the interview involves why he is shooting in Lowell and if he likes making movies and a lot of other dumbass questions. Fortunately, Gervais is practically a professional comedian and turn even the most mundane question into a little comic riff. Click on the link for the whole interview.
http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Ricky-Gervais-Talks-Up-Truth-8790.html
