David Pasquesi: In the Limelight
No, it’s not Adrien Brody’s snarky older brother. It’s David Pasquesi, one of the stars of Spike TV’s first original half-hour comedy, The Factory.
Looking at Pasquesi’s IMDb page, he’s done a fair amount of TV and film work, but the majority of his experience comes from both theater and improv. He currently does shows and occasionally teaches at Chicago’s IO (Improv Olympic). Back in the day, he honed his improv chops under the tutelage of the legendary Del Close and was part of the class that developed The Harold. An improv geek’s reaction to that would be “Holy crap!” and everyone else should be thinking, “Who’s Harold?” Yeah, don’t worry about it. If this interests you though, check out this great interview he did back in ’06, all about his work in improv.
Fellow children of Second City, Stephen Colbert, Amy Sedaris, Paul Dinello and Mitch Rouse created, wrote and starred in Exit 57, to which Pasquesi contributed as a writer. This very same team went on to create Strangers with Candy. Pasquesi had a recurring role in the series as Stew the Meat Man. He was only in a few episodes, but one of my favorite scenes from the entire first season is when art teacher Geoffrey Jellineck argues with Stew at the Blank household (”Obviously you have a beef, Stew”). Pasquesi returned for the role in the 2005 feature film version of the series.
After a few roles here and there on TV and in movies, including Jeff Garlin’s I Want Someone To Eat Cheese With, Pasquesi joined Rouse’s new project for Spike TV, The Factory, playing the role of smart-ass Smitty, who lives with his ex-wife because neither of them can afford to get their own places. It’s the channel’s first original half-hour comedy and it’s totally improvised, in that Curb Your Enthusiasm sort of way. Perhaps it’s because I’m not part of Spike TV’s main demographic or I’m wary of watching material from the same place that brought us Stripperella, but I didn’t think the show was spectacular. Then again, I’ve only seen the pilot and improv’d shows often need a little time before they find their feet. I’ll probably tune in at least once more, just because I like Pasquesi.
To be quite honest, my main intention of writing this post wasn’t to promote The Factory. Surprising, I know. Really, I just wanted an excuse to share this video that Pasquesi did a few years ago. It’s called “Hobbies” and it’s a short film from a series about regrets. He plays angry and bitter disturbingly well, and his improv skills are super-impressive. Plus, I don’t know if some of you more avid readers have been able to tell, but I’m a fan of self-loathing out loud. Check it out (language NSFW):
The Factory officially premieres June 29th, but the first episode is available for streaming on the website. Watch it if you’re a guy and you’re into this sort of thing.
Emmy Hearts Guy, Harshes On Heroes, Housewives
Stewie, a serial killer and Down Under singers are in. Wisteria Laners, Cylon apologists and Heroes are out. Let the grousing begin.
The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences released its list of Emmy semifinalists for this year’s top TV drama and comedy series, and along with usual suspects like The Office, Boston Legal and House, there’s plenty of new blood and old favorites still in the running for hardware.
Fox’s Family Guy could become the first animated show to win an Emmy for Best Comedy Series, making the top 10 along with newcomers like HBO’s Flight of the Conchords and ABC’s Pushing Daisies.
On the drama side, critically adored cable hits Damages, Dexter, Mad Men and The Tudors all passed muster, as did HBO’s dearly departed The Wire, which has one last shot at an Emmy nomination after five seasons of snubs.
Lost also made the cut, back in play after a snub in 2007.
Speaking of last year, The Sopranos was named Best Drama in its final season, beating a field that also included Boston Legal, Grey’s Anatomy, Heroes and House. On the comedy side, 30 Rock triumphed over Entourage, Ugly Betty, The Office and Two and a Half Men.
While all the 2007 comedy contenders were back, Heroes failed to repeat in its second season. Other notable shows on the diss list: prime-time broadcast hits Desperate Housewives, the various CSIs and Law & Orders, along with cable favorites like Battlestar Galactica, Big Love, Saving Grace, Army Wives, The Closer andsorry tweensHannah Montana.
The five finalists in each category, will be selected by a combination of “blue ribbon panel” balloting (50 percent) and the vox populi of the full TV Academy (50 percent). Nominations for the 60th Primetime Emmys will be announced July 17. The ceremony will go down Sept. 21.
Here’s a recap of the semifinalists.
Comedy Series:
- Curb Your Enthusiasm
- Entourage
- Family Guy
- Flight of the Conchords
- The Office
- Pushing Daisies
- 30 Rock
- Two and a Half Men
- Ugly Betty
- Weeds
Drama Series:
- Boston Legal
- Damages
- Dexter
- Friday Night Lights
- Grey’s Anatomy
- House
- Lost
- Mad Men
- The Tudors
- The Wire
The top ten comedy and drama Emmy semifinalists announced
The Emmy Awards voting is different than it used to be (more steps in the voting process and a special panel watches episodes and votes after that), and last year the list of the semifinalists was leaked online before it was officially announced. Well, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences don’t really want that to happen again, so they’ve decided to just announce the finalist list itself.
After the jump, the ten comedies and ten dramas that are semifinalists for the Emmy award this year. The list will be knocked down to five (more if there’s a tie) once another round of voting is done. The nominees will be announced live on July 17, and we’ll have coverage here at TV.
Best Drama Semifinalists
Lost
Mad Men
Grey’s Anatomy
Friday Night Lights
The Wire
Dexter
Damages
Boston Legal
The Tudors
House
Best Comedy Semifinalists
30 Rock
Flight of the Conchords
Entourage
Two and a Half Men
Pushing Daisies
The Office
Weeds
Family Guy
Ugly Betty
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Lindsay Lohan: Dinner with Sam Ronson
Lindsay Lohan: Dinner with Sam Ronson
Getting yet another dose of girl time, Lindsay Lohan was spotted having a casual dinner out last night with her girlfriend Samantha Ronson.
The “Mean Girls” actress sported a black leather jacket overtop a retro-80s Iron Maiden t-shirt along with a pair of her own signature line of leggings and a pair of black heels.
Earlier in the day, the crimson-haired hottie was spotted working it on the set of her latest acting gig “Labor Pains,” rocking yet another retro-80s t-shirt… this time it was from hair metal band Poison’s “Look What the Cat Dragged In” tour.
In the new flick, Lindsay plays an administrative assistant who fakes a pregnancy in order to avoid being fired from her job. The movie also stars Curb Your Enthusiasm’s Cheryl Hines and The Office’s Creed Bratton.