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Jay Baruchel is a man seeking Canadian content
Thursday January 22nd 2015Jay Baruchel is very up front about his three major passions: “cinema, Canada and hockey.”
He’s passionate even when he’s whispering, as he’s forced to do while being interviewed on the Toronto set of his new comedy series Man Seeking Woman.
An assistant director demands quiet on the set. Busy Baruchel is trying to squeeze an interview into a break between scenes. He’s playing a nerd who has no luck with the ladies in this first series created by comedy phenom Simon Rich, whose writing credits include stints on SNL and The Simpsons.
Born in Ottawa and raised in Montreal, Baruchel is all about working in Canada. The 32-year-old co-wrote and starred in his 2011 sports comedy Goon and made sure it was set and shot in Canada. He’s on record saying he wants to be part of a thriving Canadian film and television industry.
“What makes a Canadian project Canadian is something we all have to figure out,” he says. “It doesn’t always have to be Laura Secord running through the forest. If someone is from Canada and they create in Canada, and the money and tax dollars go back into Canada, that’s Canadian art.”
When it’s suggested Canadians have struggled with the sitcom format in recent years, Baruchel struggles to keep his voice at a whisper level. “This is the system that gave the world The Kids in the Hall, that gave the world Trailer Park Boys — in its ninth season, for f—’s sakes,” he says. “Corner Gas . . . Wayne and Shuster, we’ve always done cool s— up here.
“Because there are less of us we make less stuff,” he adds, “but do a running tab of all the crap on American television, you could fill a phone book.”
Baruchel believes Canadians “have this weird, self-hating thing about all of our s—. We’ve been predisposed to think it looks like crap.” His view is that Canadian showrunners only miss as often as showrunners anywhere else. “There’s a constant battle between crap and good stuff, worldwide.”
Baruchel loves to wave the flag but is also a pragmatist when it comes to Toronto standing in for Chicago as it does with Man Seeking Woman. “This is Simon’s show and those decisions are his,” says Baruchel. “When I made my movie it took place in Canada,” he notes. “I wouldn’t want somebody to tell me Goon has to take place in the States.”
Man Seeking Woman is one of several TV shows — Suits, Fargo, Hannibal, The Strain and Once Upon a Time are other examples — shot in Canada but made by American producers, studios and networks. Producers are lured north by provincial tax incentives, co-production funding and, especially now, the low Canadian dollar. Seasoned, reliable crews in cities right across Canada are also a draw, as is the onscreen talent pool.
Still, isn’t there something offside about this proudly Canadian star headlining another series shot in Toronto posing as Chicago? “The fact that we’re doing it here, I think, is big enough,” says Baruchel. He feels this series “can rightfully be called our own because the crew is 99 per cent Canadian. We employ a great many Canadian actors. We’re bringing money and work and tax dollars to the city of Toronto. As much of a patriot as I am, I’m also a big defender of creative freedom and if (Rich) wants to set it in Chicago, that’s his prerogative.”
Rich’s prerogative was also to seek a Canadian to headline his series. “As I was figuring out this project, the dream was if we could get Jay, maybe we could pull this thing off,” says Rich.
Rich, who describes himself as “an obsessive comedy nerd,” says he’s been tracking Baruchel’s career since Almost Famous and loved him as a teen in Judd Apatow’s short-lived comedy Undeclared.
“He reminds me of Buster Keaton,” says Rich, invoking a comedy legend. “It sounds like hyperbole, but I really mean it.”
He feels Baruchel’s most valuable skill is “his ability to play things with emotional honesty and with subtlety and naturalism and realism no matter how crazy the elements are.”
Or where the elements are.
Source:: Toronto Star
Front Page, Industry News
Jay Baruchel is a man seeking Canadian content
Thursday January 22nd 2015Jay Baruchel is very up front about his three major passions: “cinema, Canada and hockey.”
He’s passionate even when he’s whispering, as he’s forced to do while being interviewed on the Toronto set of his new comedy series Man Seeking Woman.
An assistant director demands quiet on the set. Busy Baruchel is trying to squeeze an interview into a break between scenes. He’s playing a nerd who has no luck with the ladies in this first series created by comedy phenom Simon Rich, whose writing credits include stints on SNL and The Simpsons.
Born in Ottawa and raised in Montreal, Baruchel is all about working in Canada. The 32-year-old co-wrote and starred in his 2011 sports comedy Goon and made sure it was set and shot in Canada. He’s on record saying he wants to be part of a thriving Canadian film and television industry.
“What makes a Canadian project Canadian is something we all have to figure out,” he says. “It doesn’t always have to be Laura Secord running through the forest. If someone is from Canada and they create in Canada, and the money and tax dollars go back into Canada, that’s Canadian art.”
When it’s suggested Canadians have struggled with the sitcom format in recent years, Baruchel struggles to keep his voice at a whisper level. “This is the system that gave the world The Kids in the Hall, that gave the world Trailer Park Boys — in its ninth season, for f—’s sakes,” he says. “Corner Gas . . . Wayne and Shuster, we’ve always done cool s— up here.
“Because there are less of us we make less stuff,” he adds, “but do a running tab of all the crap on American television, you could fill a phone book.”
Baruchel believes Canadians “have this weird, self-hating thing about all of our s—. We’ve been predisposed to think it looks like crap.” His view is that Canadian showrunners only miss as often as showrunners anywhere else. “There’s a constant battle between crap and good stuff, worldwide.”
Baruchel loves to wave the flag but is also a pragmatist when it comes to Toronto standing in for Chicago as it does with Man Seeking Woman. “This is Simon’s show and those decisions are his,” says Baruchel. “When I made my movie it took place in Canada,” he notes. “I wouldn’t want somebody to tell me Goon has to take place in the States.”
Man Seeking Woman is one of several TV shows — Suits, Fargo, Hannibal, The Strain and Once Upon a Time are other examples — shot in Canada but made by American producers, studios and networks. Producers are lured north by provincial tax incentives, co-production funding and, especially now, the low Canadian dollar. Seasoned, reliable crews in cities right across Canada are also a draw, as is the onscreen talent pool.
Still, isn’t there something offside about this proudly Canadian star headlining another series shot in Toronto posing as Chicago? “The fact that we’re doing it here, I think, is big enough,” says Baruchel. He feels this series “can rightfully be called our own because the crew is 99 per cent Canadian. We employ a great many Canadian actors. We’re bringing money and work and tax dollars to the city of Toronto. As much of a patriot as I am, I’m also a big defender of creative freedom and if (Rich) wants to set it in Chicago, that’s his prerogative.”
Rich’s prerogative was also to seek a Canadian to headline his series. “As I was figuring out this project, the dream was if we could get Jay, maybe we could pull this thing off,” says Rich.
Rich, who describes himself as “an obsessive comedy nerd,” says he’s been tracking Baruchel’s career since Almost Famous and loved him as a teen in Judd Apatow’s short-lived comedy Undeclared.
“He reminds me of Buster Keaton,” says Rich, invoking a comedy legend. “It sounds like hyperbole, but I really mean it.”
He feels Baruchel’s most valuable skill is “his ability to play things with emotional honesty and with subtlety and naturalism and realism no matter how crazy the elements are.”
Or where the elements are.
Source:: Toronto Star
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Front Page, Industry News
Jay Baruchel is a man seeking Canadian content
Thursday January 22nd 2015Jay Baruchel is very up front about his three major passions: “cinema, Canada and hockey.”
He’s passionate even when he’s whispering, as he’s forced to do while being interviewed on the Toronto set of his new comedy series Man Seeking Woman.
An assistant director demands quiet on the set. Busy Baruchel is trying to squeeze an interview into a break between scenes. He’s playing a nerd who has no luck with the ladies in this first series created by comedy phenom Simon Rich, whose writing credits include stints on SNL and The Simpsons.
Born in Ottawa and raised in Montreal, Baruchel is all about working in Canada. The 32-year-old co-wrote and starred in his 2011 sports comedy Goon and made sure it was set and shot in Canada. He’s on record saying he wants to be part of a thriving Canadian film and television industry.
“What makes a Canadian project Canadian is something we all have to figure out,” he says. “It doesn’t always have to be Laura Secord running through the forest. If someone is from Canada and they create in Canada, and the money and tax dollars go back into Canada, that’s Canadian art.”
When it’s suggested Canadians have struggled with the sitcom format in recent years, Baruchel struggles to keep his voice at a whisper level. “This is the system that gave the world The Kids in the Hall, that gave the world Trailer Park Boys — in its ninth season, for f—’s sakes,” he says. “Corner Gas . . . Wayne and Shuster, we’ve always done cool s— up here.
“Because there are less of us we make less stuff,” he adds, “but do a running tab of all the crap on American television, you could fill a phone book.”
Baruchel believes Canadians “have this weird, self-hating thing about all of our s—. We’ve been predisposed to think it looks like crap.” His view is that Canadian showrunners only miss as often as showrunners anywhere else. “There’s a constant battle between crap and good stuff, worldwide.”
Baruchel loves to wave the flag but is also a pragmatist when it comes to Toronto standing in for Chicago as it does with Man Seeking Woman. “This is Simon’s show and those decisions are his,” says Baruchel. “When I made my movie it took place in Canada,” he notes. “I wouldn’t want somebody to tell me Goon has to take place in the States.”
Man Seeking Woman is one of several TV shows — Suits, Fargo, Hannibal, The Strain and Once Upon a Time are other examples — shot in Canada but made by American producers, studios and networks. Producers are lured north by provincial tax incentives, co-production funding and, especially now, the low Canadian dollar. Seasoned, reliable crews in cities right across Canada are also a draw, as is the onscreen talent pool.
Still, isn’t there something offside about this proudly Canadian star headlining another series shot in Toronto posing as Chicago? “The fact that we’re doing it here, I think, is big enough,” says Baruchel. He feels this series “can rightfully be called our own because the crew is 99 per cent Canadian. We employ a great many Canadian actors. We’re bringing money and work and tax dollars to the city of Toronto. As much of a patriot as I am, I’m also a big defender of creative freedom and if (Rich) wants to set it in Chicago, that’s his prerogative.”
Rich’s prerogative was also to seek a Canadian to headline his series. “As I was figuring out this project, the dream was if we could get Jay, maybe we could pull this thing off,” says Rich.
Rich, who describes himself as “an obsessive comedy nerd,” says he’s been tracking Baruchel’s career since Almost Famous and loved him as a teen in Judd Apatow’s short-lived comedy Undeclared.
“He reminds me of Buster Keaton,” says Rich, invoking a comedy legend. “It sounds like hyperbole, but I really mean it.”
He feels Baruchel’s most valuable skill is “his ability to play things with emotional honesty and with subtlety and naturalism and realism no matter how crazy the elements are.”
Or where the elements are.
Source:: Toronto Star
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