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TALK OF THE DAY
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
McCarthy and Falcone, goofballs in matrimony
Melissa McCarthy and Ben
Falcone discuss how thier
work mixes love and comedy.
By Jake Coyle
Associated Press
NEW YORK — “There’s the
Mooch,” says Ben Falcone brightly
as his wife, Melissa McCarthy, enters
the room. It’s a term of endearment,
a long-used nickname between the
two who have been paired in love
and comedy since they were aspiring
performers at the Groundlings, the
Los Angeles improv school. Their
long partnership reaches a professional crescendo Friday with the
release of “Tammy,” a road trip comedy they wrote together that McCarthy stars in and Falcone directs.
“Tammy” was born when Falcone
woke up one morning, groggy from
a dream envisioning McCarthy and
her alcoholic grandmother (played
by Susan Sarandon) embarking on
a journey away from their small Illinois town. After six years of working
on it, their personal little comedy is
opening in the heart of summer
blockbuster season.
Melissa, you went to college in
Ben’s hometown, Carbondale, Illi-
TELEVISION
n
Warner Brothers Pictures/
Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone star in “Tammy.”
nois. Did you ever meet there?
Falcone: I knew who she was. She
went through a Goth phase.
McCarthy: I didn’t know it but
he said we were at the same parties
together — which I just find the most
bizarre thing. It wasn’t until 10 years
later that we met.
Falcone: After a year of being
friends, we started putting it together. She had blue hair and clown
makeup.
McCarthy: I prefer to say kabuki
white. “Clown” has sort of a negative
connotation.
So you actually met later in Los
MOVIES
n
Angeles?
McCarthy: We met at a Groundlings class. We immediately were
improvising with each other and
immediately gravitating toward
each other, writing-wise. The first
day, everybody’s doing their biggest, probably most unrealistic,
poorly done characters. And Ben
got up there and did this very strange
inmate that sat on a chair quietly. I
just thought it was the funniest thing.
I thought: I like that creepy guy.
Ben, do you remember the first
time you saw Melissa perform?
Falcone: It was in that class. ...
MUSIC
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Her character kept going to the same
Kinko’s and talking to a guy name
Todd. She said the name about forty
hundred billion times, like, “Hey
Todd. How you doin’ Todd? Anyway,
Todd, I just need a couple more copies.” And it was obvious she was not
there for copies at all. She was just
there to talk to Todd. It was a super
funny and great character — spazzy
and fun.
In “Tammy,” you throw ketchup
packets at your real-life husband.
Falcone: Her suggestion.
McCarthy: You were screaming,
“My eyes!” because of those corners,
which may have kind of fueled my
fire. Which is terrible because in
real life, I would never do that. If
anything hurt, I would be like, “Oh
my god.”
Falcone: I would hope that you’d
never be throwing ketchup packets
at me in the first place.
Given your success together,
these must be good times.
McCarthy: We’ve been doing it
for 20 years for free, with cheaper
wigs. We would have kept doing it. If
the opportunities that we have now
wouldn’t have come up, I still think
we’d be at the Groundlings doing
the same thing: building crazy costumes and crazy sets that do or don’t
work.
Manziel’s playbook: hanging
with Justin Bieber
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The Associated Press
Cleveland Browns rookie Johnny Manziel greets fans.
CLEVELAND — Johnny Cleveland’s other first-year
Manziel went from hanging players.
out with the Browns to hangOn Friday, Manziel
ing with the Biebs. Cleve- addressed the clamor caused
land’s rookie quarterback, by his social life — he has
whose social life has over- been filmed spraying chamshadowed his NFL arrival, pagne on partygoers in Las
posted photographs on Twit- Vegas, photographed floatter of him and Justin Bieber. ing on an inflatable swan
Manziel promised last raft drinking champagne and
week he wouldn’t tone down seen in a video talking on a
his well-documented week- fake money phone.
end living despite advice
Manziel defended his
from Hall of Famers Emmett right to party.
Smith, Joe Montana and War“I’m not going to change
ren Moon.
who I am for anybody,” he
The 22-year-old not only said. “I’m growing up and
kept his word but seemed continuing to learn from my
to flaunt his celebrity by mistakes and trying not to
posting the photos with the make the same ones over and
pop star heartthrob as well over again, but am I going to
as boxing champion Floyd live in a shell or am I just
Mayweather and others.
going to hide from everyManziel is free from foot- body and not do anything?
ball for the next few weeks. I don’t think that’s the way
The Browns open training I should live my life and I’m
camp July 26, when Manziel not going to do it.
will resume his competition
“I’m here. I’m very comwith Brian Hoyer for the mitted to football. I’m comstarting job. Manziel spent mitted to my job, but on the
last week attending the NFL’s weekends, I’m going to enjoy
rookie symposium with my time off.”
William Halstead of Elliston shared this photo with The
Burgs and writes, “Fishing from a kayak when we saw
this snapper near Radford University.” Share your own
photo at roanoke.com/sharenews.
#swvawx
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White House resumes
tours of garden
WASHINGTON — The
White House says tours of
Michelle Obama’s produce
garden will be operating again
soon.
The tours were grounded
after mandatory budget cuts
went into effect last year.
Public tours of parts of the
White House also were halted
due to the cuts but resumed
after President Barack Obama
signed legislation funding gov-
ernment operations.
The garden tours are
scheduled to resume the week
of July 14. They are open to
community and school groups
that are interested in gardening and healthy eating. The
first lady planted the garden in
2009 to help begin a national
conversation about health
and wellness and to inform
her anti-childhood obesity
initiative. The fruits and veggies grown there are served in
meals at the White House.
Looking for July 4
events? Search our
online calendar for
fireworks and more
around the region.
Kevin Myatt is keeping an eye on today’s
storm potential in
our region — and on
tropical storm Arthur,
which could impact
your July 4 beach
plans. Follow @KevinMyattWx on Twitter.
blogs.roanoke.com/
weatherjournal
calendar.roanoke.com
All-Timesland picks
Catch up with all of
our high school athlete
coverage on roanoke.
com. Photo of a mystery Jefferson Forest
soccer player shared by
Erica Yoon on Instagram (@roanoketimes).
Circulation
contact
Angela Campbell
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roanoke.com/sports/high_schools
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