Russell Brand: Pathological Candour (2007 Interview)
Posted in interview on April 7th, 2012 by starleigh
This article appeared in the Telegraph in 2007, written by Nigel Farndale. I thought some people might enjoy taking a look back.
Before I meet Russell Brand I meet his cat. At least, I’m assuming it’s his cat because: a) I’m sitting in his kitchen in Hampstead, and b) The cat has one of those diamanté-studded collars on it, the sort of thing that Brand himself might wear, only around his wrist, and with metal studs rather than fake diamonds.
It is early evening and he is behind schedule, upstairs somewhere meeting a deadline. When – eventually – he descends the staircase, he is barefoot; tall and lean in black jeans and black jumper; padding as softly as a panther. His left eyebrow forms a permanent arch; his lower lip a puffy curve; his long, black mane is down, rather than back-combed up, which is how he wears it when doing his show on television or when performing comedy on stage- award-winning comedy, quirky, effervescent, streamofconsciousness comedy.
By his own exuberant standards, he seems subdued, weary and, well, dignified today – more dignified than you would expect. He also seems distracted: he fiddles with the flat-screen Bang and Olufsen TV; he languidly circles the kitchen table; he plays with the dimmer switch before opting for muted lighting, which casts his neatly bearded features into partial shadow. When he settles it is with the side of his head resting on an upturned hand, as if offering it on a plate. He has about him an air of wanton self-possession. This, you sense, is not a man to whom you would lightly entrust a wife or grown daughter.
Video: Times Talk – Russell Brand Live 2010
Posted in interview, video on March 14th, 2012 by starleigh Tags: booky wook 2, interview, new york times, video
Russell Brand Interviewed as William Shakespeare
Posted in films, interview, video on March 4th, 2012 by starleighRussell Brand, as Shakespeare, interviewed by Julie Taymor about ”The Tempest” (now on Blu-Ray and DVD).
FX at the TCAs: The Russell Brand Experience
Posted in events, interview, television on January 19th, 2012 by starleigh
This is pretty cool.
A writer from LAist was clearly skeptical of the whole idea of a new show featuring Russell Brand, but he was won over by Russell’s sheer force of personality and off-the-cuff brilliance. That’s our guy.
Here’s the relevant portion of the article:
From Louis C.K. we moved to the final FX presentation of the day, that for the tentatively titled “Strangely Uplifting,” something positioned as a Russell Brand vehicle. I was hugely resistant to the very idea of this show as I felt we had enough over-exposure to Brand to last a lifetime (anybody remember Arthur?). There was no way I was going to be interested in some reality show that followed Brand around, it seemed like an insult directed at fans of the network that has already brought us so much great comedy (“Archer,” “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia,” “Wilfred,” “The League,” “Louie”), but after a short statement by showrunner Troy Miller, it was all Russell Brand and the guy simply blew away the room full of jaded, out-of-touch, and mostly-antisocial “journalists.”
Russell To Interview Ringo Starr for SiriusXM
Posted in interview, radio on January 19th, 2012 by starleigh
NEW YORK, Jan. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Sirius XM Radio announced today that Ringo Starr will sit down for a rare, exclusive Q&A session, hosted by Russell Brand and moderated by legendary producer Don Was, with a select group of SiriusXM subscribers at the Troubadour in Los Angeles, California.
“SiriusXM’s Town Hall with Ringo Starr” will air live on The Spectrum, channel 28, on Monday, January 30 at 4:00 pm ET, the day before the release of Starr’s new album, Ringo 2012. The special is part of SiriusXM’s “Town Hall” series, an intimate gathering with an iconic musician and a studio audience of SiriusXM listeners. Previous “SiriusXM Town Hall” specials have featured Bruce Springsteen, the surviving members of Nirvana, Tom Petty and Coldplay.
Hosted by Russell Brand, and moderated by Don Was, who is featured on Ringo 2012, the “SiriusXM Town Hall with Ringo Starr” will include the legendary singer/songwriter/drummer answering questions from the studio audience.
The “Town Hall” special will also feature an in-studio performance by Starr and his band. SiriusXM listeners will hear some of Starr’s classics as well as songs from his new album Ringo 2012.
“I am a massive fan of Ringo and of all his work, but like most people I am ignorant as to his life before he rose to prominence with Thomas the Tank Engine,” said Russell Brand. “Now we can unravel the enigma of Ringo.”
To answer the inevitable questions: No, I don’t know if this is available internationally, and I don’t know if it’ll be posted online anywhere … if anyone out there is a Sirius subscriber, maybe you could record it for all of us?!
Russell Brand Talks Standup Comedy, U.S. politics
Posted in interview, television on January 17th, 2012 by starleigh
From Alex Strachan, Postmedia News, one of the better articles on Russell’s TCA panel (most of them have managed to focus solely on his divorce, despite the fact that he didn’t comment on it at all!):
PASADENA, California — On paper, it must have looked like a bout between equals. In one corner, a petulant, impatient press corps, short on patience and long on attitude. North Americans. And in the other corner: Russell Brand. A Brit. An irascible Brit.
Russell Brand. Comedian. Actor. Activist. Vegan. Recovering alcoholic and recovering drug addict. Practitioner of transcendental meditation. Arrested in 2010 on suspected battery charges after he allegedly attacked a paparazzo who blocked his and then-wife Katy Perry’s way as they rushed to catch a flight at Los Angeles International Airport. Deported from Japan last May, according to London’s Daily Mail, because of his criminal record. Bon vivant. Raconteur. And a man who can hold an audience spellbound for 20 minutes and hardly ever utter the words “um” or “you know.”
In the end, of course, it was no contest.
Brand — appearing before the winter meeting of the TV Critics Association to promote Strangely Uplifting, his new late-night variety show this summer for the cable channel, FX, and its northern twin, FX Canada — was in fighting form.
Russell is ‘Strangely Uplifting’ at TCA Panel
Posted in interview, photos, television, twitter on January 15th, 2012 by starleigh
From The Hollywood Reporter:
Russell Brand closed winter TCA with a side-splitting, blasphemous and deliciously crude question-and-answer session to promote his new late-night program, Strangely Uplifting. Set to bow in April on FX, details on the format are still a little vague – it will be part standup, part topical humor with an element of audience participation. FX has ordered an initial six installments of the program. But if Brand’s TCA session is any indication, it has the potential to be a barnburner.
Following are highlights from Brand’s session:
U.S. politics provided copious fodder for the British brand. Asked if his show would examine the 2012 president election, Brand allowed that the current crop of GOP contenders are “an interesting bunch. I don’t know much about them. But that could be a good thing.”
On Mitt Romney’s vast wealth: “Other billionaires must seem like Dickensian street urchins eating gruel with fingerless gloves.”
On the presidential race in general: “We know it’s meaningless who the president is. Don’t we? So I’m not going to be part of the meaningless spectacle. It’s like describing individual termites. The only legitimate distinction in global politics, I think, is: are you rich or poor?”
On former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum’s name: “[His] surname rhymes with sanitarium.”
On former Speaker Newt Gingrich’s name: “ludicrous, amphibious, bizarre.”
On U.S. Marines videotaped urinating on Afghan corpses: “It’s bad to wee on a dead body, but it’s worse to kill someone! A lot of people consider the old golden shower elitist.”
On Gingrich’s TV spot skewering Romney for speaking French: “Like that makes him elitist and a bit of a whoopsy. It’s so extraordinary that someone would be criticized for [speaking another language].”
On whether his show will traffic in the gossip of the moment, even if it involves him: “At the risk of plunging myself into a post-modern, self-referential vortex, I could analyze myself. If I’d done something actually newsworthy, then I’d cover it.”
On his goals as a comedian: “I don’t see myself or my role as a malevolent jester attacking people who are already disenfranchised. All I want is to make people feel better than they do now. All I want is to make people laugh. My goal is to acknowledge that within each of us is a divine and beautiful light.”
On the culture at large: “I consider contemporary culture to be a pink pony trotting through the world shitting glitter. They’re filling our minds with shit glitter!”
WTF Podcast: Marc Maron Interviews Russell
Posted in interview on January 5th, 2012 by starleigh
From WTF with Marc Maron:
Russell Brand is fodder for a lot of tabloid gossip, but in The Cat Ranch he’s just a guy having an honest conversation. Marc sits down with Russell to talk about addiction, sobriety, childhood obesity, monogamy and, of course, comedy.
