KITHfan.org : Kids in the Hall : Dave Foley : Definitely Not The Opera

Dave: CBC Radio's Definitely Not The Opera
(March 7, 1998)

Nora Young (Host): Ever wonder what's on the pop culture menu of celebrities? Well, we do at DNTO. A few weeks ago, former Kid In The Hall, and star of NewsRadio, Dave Foley was in Toronto to promote a film he wrote and stars in called, "The Wrong Guy." I asked him what's on his pop culture menu, these days.

Dave: My favorite film for me would have to be well, Bust-Bust-Bust-Bust-Buster Keaton. I liked him in part because I think he was, uh, sort of a natural film maker -- he really understood film more than, um, I think, any of the other silent comics did, and I also liked, uh, his lack of, uh... there was... there was never anything open... he did no advertent attempts at pathos... he sort of hoped that you'd engage with the character, without even trying too hard, and he wound up to develop a very subtle acting style.

[Marx Brothers clip]

Dave: I spent most afternoons watching Marx Brothers' movies on the Saturday matinees on television. A little W.C. Fields or Laurel and Hardy, and there was a period when I was very young when I would watch Jerry Lewis movies. [Jerry Lewis playing in the background] There are segments of Jerry Lewis movies that I think are brilliant, um, generally not whole movies, uh, but there are uh... he does have segments in his movies that I would... that are pretty remarkable, especially physical comedy.

Dave: What do I watch on TV? I watch a lot of Newsworld, I watch, um... a lot of movies when they're on, I watch South Park whenever I can remember what night its on... [South Park theme playing in the background, fades into Perry Mason theme]

Nora: Guilty? [robotic voice]

Dave: Uh, guilty? Um, none that I... I have no guilt about these things. But I... I'll watch as many "Green Acres" episodes as I possibly can -- I think it is...I think that it is one of the most brilliantly written shows ever put on television. It is comparable to, in the truest sense of the word *comparable*, "Ionesco". Y'know it's... y'know it just takes, it sets up its bizzare logic and running gags, and layers them through the show beautifully. Two guys wrote every episode. Um, another show I love is "The Addams Family", [Addams Family theme plays] largely because of how really brilliant I think John Aston is.

Dave: What am I listening to these days? Um, Sloan, I like a lot; I've been listening to the Killjoys a lot lately; a band out of New York called, um, called Jonathan Fireater; of course the Odds...("Someone Who's Cool" playing in the background) a lot of bands, a lot of stuff that I like.

Dave: What do I do in L.A.? Um... I spend most of my time sealed inside a... uh, plexiglass case, where my environment is controlled and my... all my bodily functions are monitored.

Nora: That's comedian, writer, and actor Dave Foley, his current project is the film "The Wrong Guy." Dave is just one of many Canadians making pop culture waves in Los Angeles these days...

[segues into segment about interning in Hollywood, and what's coming up on DNTO, then plays "Secret Garden" by Mudgirl]