Gross brings 'Brooms' to TV
Paul Gross says there's one significant difference between the movie Men With Brooms and the new TV show Men With Brooms.
"I think where Paul (Mather, creator of the TV show) is unbelievably smart is, he toned down the curlers' abilities," said Gross, who wrote, directed and starred in the 2002 film.
"I had it in the film that we were all wonderful at this. And none of us were any good at it. So it created a huge problem in editing of trying to find shots where we didn't look like horrible curlers."
There is nothing worse, we all know, than sports TV shows or movies that don't get the sports part of it even remotely right.
"I know what you're talking about -- it's why it's so hard to make hockey movies, too," Gross said. "But I think they've addressed it actually in the structure."
The TV series Men With Brooms debuts Monday, Oct. 4 on CBC. Gross, a Canadian showbiz heavyweight for the past few decades, is a co-executive producer and the narrator. He also makes a couple of on-screen appearances during the season, including the first episode.
The series stars Brendan Gall (Gary), Joel Keller (Bill), Anand Rajaram (Pramesh) and William Vaughan (Matt) as a sad-sack curling team in the fictional Northern Ontario town of Long Bay.
Certainly CTV's Corner Gas -- on which Mather worked as well -- proved that Canadian sitcoms don't necessarily have to suck, and Men With Brooms seems to crave that same audience.
"You just have to make them laugh, and shows that suck don't do that, while shows that do are usually successful," Gross reasoned.
"When I first was approached about this, I was asked if I'd write it, and I said, 'I don't know how to write a half-hour.' There's something special about that form.
"I said, 'We need to get somebody who can do that.' And in came Paul Mather. I remember reading that first script, and not that I was dubious, but I was wondering how it would translate. But it was hilarious."
Gross has the funniest line of the first episode, and those who frequent curling clubs will recognize it when they hear it.
One stylistic criticism: Why does it always look like it's the middle of the afternoon? Any small-town curler knows that 90% of the activity at the club takes place at night. We know it's more expensive to shoot at night, but just for the exteriors, a little realism goes a long way.
That aside, Gross seems optimistic about Men With Brooms on the small screen.
"Obviously we'll see what happens when audiences do, or do not, tune into it," Gross said. "But I think they're going to like it. I can't see why they wouldn't.
"It has all the qualities you look for in a show. Characters you want to watch. You recognize them as being you, or people you know. You laugh out loud. And it doesn't suck."
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"I think where Paul (Mather, creator of the TV show) is unbelievably smart is, he toned down the curlers' abilities," said Gross, who wrote, directed and starred in the 2002 film.
"I had it in the film that we were all wonderful at this. And none of us were any good at it. So it created a huge problem in editing of trying to find shots where we didn't look like horrible curlers."
There is nothing worse, we all know, than sports TV shows or movies that don't get the sports part of it even remotely right.
"I know what you're talking about -- it's why it's so hard to make hockey movies, too," Gross said. "But I think they've addressed it actually in the structure."
The TV series Men With Brooms debuts Monday, Oct. 4 on CBC. Gross, a Canadian showbiz heavyweight for the past few decades, is a co-executive producer and the narrator. He also makes a couple of on-screen appearances during the season, including the first episode.
The series stars Brendan Gall (Gary), Joel Keller (Bill), Anand Rajaram (Pramesh) and William Vaughan (Matt) as a sad-sack curling team in the fictional Northern Ontario town of Long Bay.
Certainly CTV's Corner Gas -- on which Mather worked as well -- proved that Canadian sitcoms don't necessarily have to suck, and Men With Brooms seems to crave that same audience.
"You just have to make them laugh, and shows that suck don't do that, while shows that do are usually successful," Gross reasoned.
"When I first was approached about this, I was asked if I'd write it, and I said, 'I don't know how to write a half-hour.' There's something special about that form.
"I said, 'We need to get somebody who can do that.' And in came Paul Mather. I remember reading that first script, and not that I was dubious, but I was wondering how it would translate. But it was hilarious."
Gross has the funniest line of the first episode, and those who frequent curling clubs will recognize it when they hear it.
One stylistic criticism: Why does it always look like it's the middle of the afternoon? Any small-town curler knows that 90% of the activity at the club takes place at night. We know it's more expensive to shoot at night, but just for the exteriors, a little realism goes a long way.
That aside, Gross seems optimistic about Men With Brooms on the small screen.
"Obviously we'll see what happens when audiences do, or do not, tune into it," Gross said. "But I think they're going to like it. I can't see why they wouldn't.
"It has all the qualities you look for in a show. Characters you want to watch. You recognize them as being you, or people you know. You laugh out loud. And it doesn't suck."
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