On Screen

November 30 - December 6, 2019—3 The Greeneville Sun, Greeneville, TN The Greeneville Sun, Greeneville, TN November 30 - December 6, 2019 — 3 2 x 3.5" ad a) greene cnty farmers b) swango's 2 x 4" ad williams electric 2 x 1.5" ad ymca 2 x 1.5" ad doughty stevens By Jay Bobbin Denis Leary wasn't looking for an- other series nor a Christmas comedy, but both found him in one package. The "Rescue Me" and "Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll" veteran stars in "The Moodys," a limited-run Fox sitcom about a dysfunctional Chicago family reunited for the holi- days, for better or worse. The show airs two of its six episodes on each of three nights starting Wednesday, Dec. 4, then continuing the follow- ing Monday and Tuesday. Elizabeth Perkins ("Weeds") plays Leary's wife, with Jay Baruchel ("Man Seeking Woman"), Chelsea Frei ("Victoria Gotti: My Father's Daughter") and Francois Arnaud ("The Borgias") as the couple's grown children. "It's probably the craziest shoot - ing schedule I've ever been involved with," the dryly witty Leary muses, "with the exception of a couple of reshoots for movies. We go on the air a month after we wrapped, and I've never done anything that crazy before." Still, Leary adds that he has confi- dence in the outcome largely because of Bob Fisher, one of its writers, directors and executive producers: "He and I adapted the British show 'Sirens' together for USA Network, and we had a great time. I say 'No' to everything, basically, but he's one of the people on my short list. I'm always looking to work with some- body I know or somebody I'm really interested in working with. Nobody can guarantee that anything is going to be good or even middling. You can only do the work, so I want to have a good time doing it." Leary played a Christmas Eve crim- inal in the 1994 movie "The Ref." He admits "it's hard to convince me" to attempt edgy holiday humor again, "but the tone of this felt a lot like that. That's how Bob sold it to me, actually. He said, 'This is like "The Ref" as a television show,' and that was a good hook." Also a recurring player on TNT's "Animal Kingdom," Leary often writes his own material, but he says that wasn't a concern for him in the case of "The Moodys." He notes, "There was certainly a lot of playing around and improvising on the set, but this guy was written as someone with a big heart but a hard external shell. It's clear this family loves each other, but man, they have a lot of stuff to get through." While "The Moodys" is only a one-shot project for now, Leary is ready should Fox decide to order more of it. "We all signed up with that idea in mind," he confirms. "If the thing works, the game plan is to bring the Moodys back with a dif - ferent family event ... a wedding, an anniversary, a funeral. All of their re- sentments and grudges could go on." Celebrity Scoop Celebrity Scoop Denis Leary is the head of the family in Fox's 'The Moodys' Cover Story Cover Story By George Dickie Over the years, Kevin Pollak has gotten a lot of laughs and praise for his celebrity impressions. And while that is a source of sat- isfaction and pride for the stand-up comic and actor, who returns when "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" begins streaming its third season Friday, Dec. 6, on Amazon, he admits it can lead to some awkward moments when he encounters the real person. Such was the case in 2004 when Pollak was asked to perform when Oscar-winning actor Christopher Walken had his hand and footprints immortalized in the sidewalk outside of Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. "The strange thing about im - personations is if the real person is there, however good you are no longer matters," the affable 62-year- old San Francisco native says with a laugh. "The whole magic act of doing impersonations is you're stealing the affection people have Checking in with Kevin Pollak for the actual person. If I can think of someone you like, in this case Christopher Walken, and I say (as Walken), 'Hey ... it's crazy to talk to you — hello — today ... .' You know, he's not here, so I get to prey on your love of him, basically. "So I'm doing it," he continues, "and the great thrill is the press are laughing. But then I see him from the corner of my eye sort of bending forward at the waist in hysteria. He loved it. He just loved it. And what a relief, I can't begin to tell you." As for what's ahead in Season 3 of "Maisel," Pollak was understandably tight-lipped but he does allow that the 1950s world of Midge Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan) will get "a little bigger and bolder and more stun- ning and the relationships are deep- er, which is great. People are finding out more about each other the way one does over time, but the canvas is bigger and bolder and there is an up- tempo that's pretty exciting." Full name: Kevin Elliot Pollak Birth date: Oct. 30, 1957 Birthplace: San Francisco Family ties: Single; in a relation- ship with writer/producer Jaime Fox; has two children with ex- wife Lucy Webb, a writer/actress TV credits include: "Amen," "thirtysomething," "Who's the Boss?" "The Drew Carey Show," "The Wonderful World of Dis - ney," "Ed," "Life With Bonnie," "Shark," "Entourage," "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," "Childrens Hospital," "Mom," "House of Lies," "Angie Tribeca," "Drunk History," "The Good Fight," "NCIS," "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," "Billions" Movie credits include: "Willow" (1988), "Avalon" (1990), "L.A. Story" (1991), "A Few Good Men" (1992), "Grumpy Old Men" (1993), "The Usual Suspects" (1995), "Casino" (1995), "That Thing You Do!" (1996), "The Whole Nine Yards" (2000), "The Whole Ten Yards" (2004), "Red State" (2011), "The Front Runner" (2018) Directorial credits: "Misery Loves Comedy" (2015), "The Late Bloomer" (2016) Call 638-4181 To Advertise In... ❅ ❉ ❆ ❄ ❅ ❉ ❆ ❄ ❅ ❉ ❆ ❄ Portable And Wall Heaters Available in both 110 and 240 volt "Serving Your Complete Lighting Needs Since 1960" 3195 East Andrew Johnson Hwy. • (423)638-2241 Williams Electric Supply ❅ ❉ ❆ ❄ 240v Portable Heaters Portable, Fan-Forced 4,000 Watt Portable Heaters Williams Electric Supply Be - Ready - for COLD - Weather HEATER SALE! Doughty-Stevens Funeral Home 423-638-4141 www.doughty-stevens.com 1125 Tusculum Blvd. Greeneville, Tennessee Established 1892 Serving the community for 127 years! One Y. One Community. 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