Interesting article in the National Post... is Massey Hall the end of the road for Ricky, Julian and Bubbles?
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Once again, the Trailer Park Boys are playing Massey Hall in Toronto. Their appearance at one of Canada's most prestigious venues next Wednesday may well be their last.
The Trailer Park Boys are played by John Paul Tremblay, Robb Wells and Mike Smith. You probably know what they look like even if you've never watched an episode of their TV show, which ran for seven seasons on Showcase. Or even if you didn't see either of their feature films, 2006's Trailer Park Boys: The Movie and last year's Liquor Day. Tremblay plays Julian, who wears the tight black T-shirt and always carries a rum and coke. Wells is Ricky, who wears track pants and is usually high or struggling to become so. Smith plays Bubbles, who wears thick glasses and serves as the trio's moral centre.
When I reach them by phone they've just checked into a suite at the Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles. They're in town to appear on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the second time they've been on this ABC late-night talk show, but they're anxious to talk about the Massey Hall show.
"It's a brand new show, completely, never before performed material," Tremblay explains. "It's written for the fans. Like going to watch the TV show live," Smith continues. Wells adds that "there's a lot of crowd participation."
The live show is tailored for fans of the TV show, with one big difference - Mike Clattenburg isn't involved.
The Trailer Park Boys first appeared in a short film called Trailer Park Boys, which debuted at the Atlantic Film Festival in 1999. This black-and-white gem was shot in a mock-documentary style and set the tone for everything that followed. And while Tremblay and Wells co-wrote the film (Smith's character Bubbles wasn't introduced until the first season of the TV show), Mike Clattenburg produced, directed, co-wrote, co-edited and, depending who you talk to, even shot a bunch of it. Clattenburg also directed and received the first writing credit for all 57 episodes of the TV show and both feature films. The Trailer Park Boys are Clattenburg's biggest success, but he's ready to move on. The resident of Dartmouth, N.S., is understandably guarded about his next project. Emails to Top-Sail Entertainment, the film's production company, would only confirm that, "Mike Clattenburg's next film is a dark comedy set in Afghanistan."
So with no plans for either an eighth season of the show or another movie, Tremblay, Wells and Smith have also moved on. Their new show, The Drunk and On Drugs Happy Funtime Hour, begins shooting in May. It airs on Showcase in October and doesn't feature Ricky, Julian or Bubbles. Tremblay cautions that the show is, "completely different." Smith explains that the actors play, "about 10 characters each. There's a lot of prosthetic makeup. A lot of changing our looks." Wells describes the show, which explores the small fictional coastal town of Port Cockerton as "much, much more bizarre."
For now, the only place you can see the Trailer Park Boys is live on stage.
While Tremblay, Wells and Smith acknowledge that they and Clattenburg are equally responsible for creating Ricky, Julian and Bubbles, their loyalty to the director is strong.
"We wouldn't do a TV show," Wells flatly says. Smith and Tremblay instantly agree. They're comfortable doing the stage show as a way to keep the flame alive, but that's it. It's the sort of decision that Ricky, Julian and Bubbles would have, eventually, come to. In a way, it's this sense of loyalty that makes the Trailer Park Boys even more Canadian than the setting, or the ball hockey, or any of the other references. It's also their blessing and their curse - because of it the TV show and the movies may have run their course, but without it we would have never have projected ourselves into these characters in the first place.
http://www.nationalpost.com/arts/story.html?id=2646925****
On a happier note, we'll be bringing you news about Afghan Luke. We hear it's going to be a very cool movie.
