Stars of Monkee Movie Revealed

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X-eGroups-From: Brad Waddell
From: Brad Waddell

Exclusive – Finally revealed are two of the actors who will be playing Mike
and Davy in the Monkees VH1 movie. See them at:

http://www.canoe.ca/JamMovies/mar18_monkees.html

Here is the article:

Saturday, March 18, 2000
Hey hey, they’re the Monkees
By DEREK TSE
Toronto Sun

Then you saw their faces. Now are you a believer?

The producers of the new Monkees biopic, Daydream Believers: The Monkees’
Story, are hoping so.

Three of the four actors playing the zany ’60s quartet were introduced
yesterday at a downtown Toronto news conference. Each bears a striking
resemblance to his real-McCoy counterpart.

George Stanchev, who plays lead singer Davy Jones, grew up here in Toronto.

Jeff Geddis, portraying guitarist Mike Nesmith, was born in Thunder Bay,
raised in Pickering and currently lives in Toronto.

New York resident L.B. Fisher plays bassist Peter Tork.

The actor who will play so-called drummer Mickey Dolenz is still in
negotiations, but should report to work when shooting begins here on Monday.

Stanchev, 19, said he donned a wig, special jewelry and shirts “to get into
the character as much as I could” for the audition. He said he had no
problem adopting Jones’ British accent because while he attended high
school in Europe, many of his friends were from England.

Geddis, 24, a graduate of York University, said he “was always a Beatles
fan more (than a Monkees fan). I had a Monkees tape, I used to listen to
that from time to time. I’m definitely a fan of that musical era.”

Like Stanchev, the tall, lanky Geddis auditioned in full Monkees regalia,
in his case a tuque and “much tighter clothes than I normally wear.”

He said he had a pretty good feeling about his tryout, even before he went
before the casting director.

“When I was sitting in the waiting room for my audition, this kid looked
over at me and said, ‘Wow, you really look like that guy.’ That was pretty
cool. When you find out you look like someone, immediately you’re like, ‘Oh
good, now all I have to do is act the part.’ It’s nice to look exactly like
what they’re looking for.”

Both Toronto-linked actors painstakingly researched their respective roles.

“I immediately went out and bought videos and CDs and everything,” said the
diminutive Stanchev, who is four inches taller than the 5-foot-3 Jones.

“One of my scenes actually involved singing the chorus to Daydream
Believer, which I didn’t know. So I kept listening to the CDs over and over
and watched the tapes hundreds of times.”

Geddis also wore out his VCR, even viewing over and over Nesmith’s own
screen test for the original Monkees show.

Stanchev auditioned in L.A., where he lives when he’s not in Toronto or
Europe. Geddis tried out in Toronto.

Neill Fearnley, the film’s director, said that while two of the respondents
to last week’s open casting call in Toronto made the short list, he went
with people “we felt had a better look and were strong actors.”

Fearnley said that because of the film’s hectic 20-day shooting schedule
around Toronto, professionals were preferable “because there’s no time for
us to train somebody.”

Musical talent was another consideration during casting.

Stanchev has just finished cutting a pop album, Are You Ready, in Europe.
Geddis is probably more like most of the real Monkees as far as musical
abilities go.

“I’ve never been very musically gifted, if you will,” Geddis said. “But I
have rhythm, I can dance, I can keep a beat!”

Monkees purists need not fear. The cast has been training for the past week
not only to play their instruments, but also to mimic the originals’
playing styles.

The spiky-haired Fisher, who will don a Peter Tork-like blonde wig for the
film, seemed to speak for his fellow spitting-image Monkees.

“We’re playing rock stars for five weeks. Who wouldn’t wanna do it?”

+++++++++++++++++++++

From: Tiffany Spiecker

HEY, HEY, BE A MONKEE
BYLINE: JIM SLOTEK
EDITION: Final
SECTION: Entertainment
1 Mar 2000, pp. 55

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.”

+++++++++++++++

From: Ruthkw@aol.com

Stanley Ralph Ross

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Stanley Ralph Ross, an actor-producer who also wrote more
than 250 television show episodes, died Thursday of cancer, the Los Angeles
Times reported Sunday.

The Times said he was 64, but an entry in the book “Who’s Who in America”
gave his birth date as July 22, 1940, making him 59.

Born in New York City, Ross was a freelance photographer, a copywriter and
advertising executive before discovering what he once called his “true
vocation” of writing.

Over a 30-year career, Ross wrote dozens of scripts for television movies and
TV series such as “The Monkees,” “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” and
“Columbo.” He wrote 32 episodes of the 1960s “Batman” series.

He also developed or created TV shows such as the 1970s hit “Wonder Woman.”

Ross co-wrote the book, music and lyrics for a musical, “Chaplin,” produced
at the Los Angeles Music Center.

As an actor, Ross appeared on television in “Falcon Crest” and many other
series. His films included “Tony Rome.”

“No animal should ever jump up on the dining-room furniture unless absolutely
certain that he can hold his own in the conversation.” — Fran Lebowitz

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