Monkees Alert News

Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=”us-ascii”; format=flowed
X-eGroups-From: Brad Waddell
From: Brad Waddell

From: “paul sweatman”

Articles about the Monkees Movie Auditions and other topics:

Wednesday, March 1, 2000
Hey, hey, be a Monkee
By JIM SLOTEK
Toronto Sun
If you’re old enough to remember the Monkees, you might not think much of
Christopher Bernard’s chances for the role of Davy Jones in the forthcoming
Monkees TV movie — what with Bernard being African-Canadian.
The 25-year-old actor was at the front of the line of auditioneers
outside CITY-TV yesterday when we talked to him. The conversation went like
this:
“Um, you know the Monkees were real people?”
“Well, I’m a real person.”
“Uh, but they were four white guys.”
“Well, I know the director probably has some preconceived notions of what
he’s looking for. But I hope to show my talents, and maybe if I don’t get
the role of Davy, they’ll keep me in mind for something else.”
The rub is that most of the 50 or so prospective actors who lined up for
the roles of Jones, Peter Tork, Mike Nesmith and Micky Dolenz in Daydream
Believers: The Story Of The Monkees, were of an age to believe you if you
told them one of the Monkees was black.
Asked which role he wanted, Chris Mahon, 19, said, “Whatever … Whatever
they want me for.” What did he know about the Pre-fab Four? “Not much. I’ve
seen their video and heard the song before. I forget the name.”
Could he name a Monkee? “Um … Davy?”
It was that way throughout the “environment” on Queen St. W. on audition
day (CITY/CHUM are co-producers along with VH-1 in the U.S. and Pebblehut,
a Canadian producer). Most over age 35 were jazzed. Everyone under was
oblivious.
Pulse 24 producer B.J. Del Conte mentioned the audition to a 28-year-old.
“I said they’re auditioning for a movie about The Monkees, and she said,
‘Who?’ I said, ‘The Monkees. They were big. They toured and Jimi Hendrix
opened for them.’ And she said, ‘Jimi Hendrix? Isn’t he some dead guy?’ “
CITY spokesperson Bev Nenson swears one caller went on about whether
they’d provide monkey costumes for the audition. “It was all, ‘Tell me what
kind of monkeys these are.’ “
Said casting director John Comerford: “When I did the auditions for
Tommy, we got over 2,000 people. I can’t tell you why this didn’t get the
same response. They got about 100 each in L.A. and New York (where earlier
auditions were held). What I think is that, ultimately, people our age want
to see it. My brother-in-law in Markham wants to see it.
“If we covered a 20-year span in the life of the Monkees, we’d get
thousands of people our age trying out to be the older Monkees. But for
younger people, it’s a foreign language.”
In fact, the movie covers the lives of Micky, Peter, Mike and Davy
through a two-year span from the original auditions for the ’60s TV series,
“right up until the time they started filming Head (The madcap Monkees film
co-created by Jack Nicholson and Bob Rafelson).”
There apparently are Mack Sennett-ish scenes replicating the series, and
offstage stuff mirroring the discord pitting the members who wanted The
Monkees to be a real band (Tork and Nesmith) against the ones who had no
such aspirations (Jones and Dolenz). “Mike is the one who shows the most
integrity in the script,” Comerford says.
In fact, some of the audition hopefuls were a little old for the parts,
but were bigger Monkees fans for it. One Davy wannabe was Rob Kay, 41, who
fronts a Brit-Invasion band called The Toggles. Another was Jim Clark,
drummer for the surf-abilly band The SinTones who are playing a Canadian
Music Week showcase at the El Mocambo this week.
“I was a total fan,” says Clark, 37. “I started playing drums because of
Micky — even though he didn’t actually play them.”

Tuesday, February 29, 2000
Eh, eh, you’re The Monkees
By CLAIRE BICKLEY — Toronto Sun
TORONTO – No guts, no glory, guys.
Reminder: The open audition for Daydream Believers: The Story Of The
Monkees runs from noon to 6 today at the ChumCity Building, 299 Queen St. W.
Tip: “The four leads will be cast for their acting ability and resemblance
to the original band members, rather than musical ability.”
Personally, I see Sun TV critic Bill Brioux in the role of drummer Mickey
Dolenz but he refuses to go.
The movie starts shooting here mid-March for broadcast on MuchMoreMusic and
VH1 next season.

Monday, February 17, 1997
Monkees reunion is humourless trash
By DAVID VEITCH — Calgary Sun
OK, here’s the problem:
Hey, hey, you’re The Monkees and you’ve just released Justus, your first
record to feature all four members (Davy! Micky! Peter! Mike!) since the
soundtrack to the 1968 feature film, Head.
Alas, rock radio mocks you, MTV and Top-40 radio ignores you and
goldie-radio only plays your old hits. What’s a reunited Pre-fab Four to do?
The answer: Hey, Hey, It’s The Monkees, an hour-long special airing tonight
at 7 p.m. on HC and 9 p.m. on I.
It attempts to reprise the camaraderie and madcap antics of The Monkees TV
series, all the while exposing new songs to the masses.
Just like the old Monkees TV program used to do.
Except the old show was occasionally funny. Hey, Hey, It’s The Monkees only
serves to remind us that the Last Train to Clarksville pulled out of the
station a long time ago.
The Monkees are preparing for a concert at a prestigious country club.
That’s the plot in its entirety.
And it’s upon this flimsy premise that writer-director Michael Nesmith —
who returns to the Monkee fold after a 27-year estrangement — hangs
lip-synced performances of Justus songs and a collection of largely
humorless gags.

http://www.canoe.ca/JamMusicArtistsM/monkees.html

The Monkees Alert list is moderated, meaning you cannot post directly to
the list yourself. To submit an item for the list, send to:
bradpager@flextools.com

For info on posting to, subscribing, or removing yourself from this list,
send an e-mail to: alert@flexquarters.com for an automatic response. Thanks!