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The DGP: Nick Offerman Loves Him Some Ron Swanson & DOXA is the Real Deal

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Nick Offerman is well aware of his good fortune when he landed the role of Ron Swanson on the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation.

In fact, the veteran actor says Swanson was such a great character that he feels fulfilled enough that he could easily sail off into fame’s sunset and be content with doing some theatre and building canoes.

The latter is a testament to Offerman’s great love of woodworking.

NICK OFFERMAN

NICK OFFERMAN

It’s not surprising to hear Offerman’s less-than-Hollywood view on his life and career. You kind of expect that from this guy. I think it’s the moustache.

Right now, Offerman, who has also guested on various TV shows and provided the voice of Metal Beard in the awesome Lego Movie, and his wife Megan Mullally, who was the hilarious Karen on Will & Grace, are spending quality couple time together driving around and listening to audio books.

Oh, and they are also putting on a comedy show at night. The Summer of 69: No Apostrophe Tour (think about it) stopped in Vancouver on April 29. But Offerman was on his own for this show as Mullally was ill.

Prior to his arrival in Vancouver, I got the chance to speak with Offerman on The DGP podcast.

We talked about theatre, working blue (apparently, Offerman and Mullally have a whole song in the show about vagina names), how sad he is to see David Letterman retire (me too) and how he would love to spend months and months kayaking in our West Coast waters.

Listen on your mobile device here

Also on The DGP this week is a chat with DOXA Documentary Film Festival programming director Dorothy Woodend.

Now, full disclosure: I watch a lot of movies. Sometimes I will see four or five films in a week in my role as movie critic for Global TV.

I am not complaining. As they say, it’s a good job if you can get it.

And, if you get it, you have to take the good with the bad. Like, say, in the same week I saw a clever look at the struggle to remain youthful in Noah Baumbach’s While We’re Young along with pretty people (Vin Diesel excluded) driving really fast in silly supercars. Guess which story made more money?

Sadly, just because you sell the most hamburgers does not mean you make a good one.

I’ve given up worrying on that point because as long as the money rolls in, the fast cars will speed out.

I have no control over Hollywood but, if I did, I would force all writers of screenplays to look up the most popular romantic comedies on IMDB and then do the opposite.

I would explain patiently to producers that not everyone wants to see movies based on comic books no matter how often you force the stars of those movies to walk red carpets and then quip cheerfully on talk shows that the film “was the most fun ever to make.”

I would require all car chases to be limited to five blocks and, once in a while, they have to have a bad guy who is a good shot.

I would get Liam Neeson a good script (remember the old days?) and I would ask Adam Sandler to cut it out.

Oh, and yeah, I would make movie studios fund a documentary department and give the films they produce wide release.

But until monkeys really fly, I’m afraid the documentary world and the big screen will continue with their limited relationship.

That said, we lovers of docs should give thanks to cable channels like HBO, IFC and the Documentary Channel, and shows like CBC’s The Passionate Eye for their support of real stories.

We should also be grateful to the film festivals and the people who scour the globe to find films to share with those of us who really are just after one thing: a good story.

Here in Vancouver, we have one of those great festivals in the DOXA Documentary Film Festival. Now in its 14th year, DOXA is a wealth of quality films. There are 90 titles from 26 countries that screen until May 10.

Another full disclosure: There is a bonus to my film critic gig. And, no, it’s not free popcorn. I get to screen a lot of movies before they actually hit theatres and I’ve spent the last couple of weeks with my butt firmly on the couch watching a bunch of documentaries that are part of this year’s DOXA.

Here is a short list of ones to definitely check out:

How to Change the World

Made by Jerry Rothwell, this very West Coast movie opened the festival and is a must-see. What you’ve got here is essentially the birth of Greenpeace. It was here that a group of rag-tag environmentalists got together in a rusty old boat and set off to stop the Americans from testing nuclear weapons in Alaska.

From that experience, the group moved on to whales and whaling. Soon, their remarkable camera footage and photos of the stomach-turning events of the Russian factory ship hunt caught the world’s attention. Their successes grew and so did some of their egos. The documentary delivers some great footage and even better, no-holds-barred archival and new interviews with the likes of Bob Hunter, Paul Watson, Patrick Moore, Rex Weyler and others who supported this movement.

Just to see how different 1970s Vancouver was is worth the price of admission — though I’m guessing most of the audience at this one will remember what 1970s Vancouver looked like.

ORION: THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING

ORION: THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING

Orion: The Man Who Would Be King

According to DOXA’s Woodend, filmmaker Jeanie Finlay found this story by accident (that happens in this genre) while flipping through a bin of used records in a second-hand store. It was there she discovered the recording artist Orion, a kind of Elvis impersonator who sang like a bird but was bound to mediocrity by a corrupt record company guy (shocker) and a mask. Finlay will be here in person to present her interesting, heartbreaking and totally unexpected film about a man with a dream.

Iris

This movie follows current Kate Spade model and “it” girl Iris Apfel. Oh, by the way, Apfel happens to be 93 years old.

You’ve probably seen photos of the diminutive doyenne. Think over-sized, black Mr. Magoo glasses and layer upon layer of colourful, chunky jewelry.

This is not just a film about fashion and puffery. It is about curiosity, creativity and downright spunk.

It should also be noted this film was shot by Albert Maysles, who along with his brother David delivered the great documentaries Grey Gardens and Gimme Shelter.

Sadly, this was 87-year-old Albert’s last film. (David died years ago.)

And, I tell you, after watching Iris traipse around New York from one event to another, I was exhausted.

Florence, Arizona

This film/story just kind of sat on my chest like a large weight.

It’s about a small Arizona town that is surrounded by nine prisons (county, state, federal and private). Just to make things clearer, the population is thus: 8,500 civilians and 17,000 inmates.

Obviously, the prisons fuel the economy and support a huge percentage of the population, but the sadness is undeniable.

The Andrea B. Scott film tells the story of the town through a handful of residents who are directly affected by this looming prison industrial complex.

America once again disappoints.

Seth’s Dominion

Canadian graphic novelist/cartoonist Seth is at the centre of this film. What I liked about this is how director Luc Chamberland mixed medias and allowed Seth to take us on a journey through his inspiration and creative process. Seth is intriguing, entertaining and, well, wonderfully odd.

Oh, and this film comes with a bonus offer: Preceding it is the short I Thought I Told You to Shut Up!! The Charlie Tyrell film looks at the story of Vancouver-based cartoonist David Boswell’s infamous anti-hero Reid Fleming, World’s Toughest Milkman. How come Reid didn’t become more famous? Who are his fans? (There are some big names on that list.) And where is Reid now?

Check out the DOXA schedule at doxafestival.ca

Listen on your mobile device here

dgee@theprovince.com
twitter.com/dana_gee



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