S19.E03: Dame Helen Mirren, Kevin Costner, Ewan McGregor, Ricky Gervais, Eric Bana, Meghan Trainor

[Athena]

Together on Graham's sofa are Oscar winner Dame Helen Mirren, Hollywood great Kevin Costner, Scottish star Ewan McGregor, comedy great Ricky Gervais and Australian superstar Eric Bana. With music from Meghan Trainor.

 

[dubbel zout]

Hollywood great Kevin Costner

I know it's just the PR, but really?

 

Can't wait to see the queen, though.

[dusang]

I know it's just the PR, but really?

 

Seriously.  Although now that I'm trying to think of him IRL I can't remember a single interview with him -- what's he like?  I somehow suspect the answer is "not too bright and vaguely stoned" but maybe that's unkind of me.

[dusang]

Just watched. Really fun.

They had everyone but Kevin Costner on and chatting and it was delightful and then Kevin came on late, for no apparent reason except that he was possibly too nervous to be on the couch the whole time. He was a bit rambling but quite charming. And then he told a rather odd story of Stephen Hawking coming to his house and everyone laughed and Ricky said, "This is great, it's a proper chat show. If we were in America they'd have us all dressed like wolves dancing around him." Which I thought was hilarious and painfully accurate!

Also, I was not far off the mark for Kevin's overall demeanour.

Edited April 9, 2016 by dusang

[MissLucas]

That was interesting and a bit weird (in a good way). The first segment was pretty standard though McGregor looked occasionally a bit bored. Bana is really charming and turning into a great silver fox. The Costner part was different (I agree he probably came late because he was nervous and did not know how to deal with the format) but he's actually a great story-teller -  you just never know where the story is going to and so he holds your attention. Very entertaining and intriguing. Even Norton looked at times baffled. Loved the bit about the wolves not behaving like they were supposed to though I was at first confused when he segued from wolves to vacuum cleaner sales men - it did make sense in the end.

[Corgi-ears]

I thought they kissed Kevin's ass way too much. It felt like Graham featured him as the star of the couch because he seldom does talk shows, but the other guests read that as, "Oh, it's the Costner Tribute Hour" and played to that script. I mean, Ewan, what did everyone at your drama school say to Waterworld?

Edited April 10, 2016 by Corgi-ears

[dusang]

Well, to be fair, Ewan might have been out of school by then. It was a bit awkward when Kevin said he'd directed three films and you realize two of them were catastrophes of legendary epic proportions.

[Unclejosh]

It's too bad what happened because both Waterworld and The Postman are good movies.  Much better than the box office or most people's impression of the movies.  IMHO of course but I enjoyed the heck out of them.

[sugarbaker design]

And then he told a rather odd story of Stephen Hawking coming to his house and everyone laughed and Ricky said, "This is great, it's a proper chat show. If we were in America they'd have us all dressed like wolves dancing around him." Which I thought was hilarious and painfully accurate!

 

 

That must've been cut from the BBCAmerica airing, don't recall hearing that one.  I did enjoy the anecdote about his writer friend who stayed with him.  I was worried halfway through, was wondering where this was going, but Costner came through and pulled it off.

[dusang]

That must've been cut from the BBCAmerica airing, don't recall hearing that one.  I did enjoy the anecdote about his writer friend who stayed with him.  I was worried halfway through, was wondering where this was going, but Costner came through and pulled it off.

 

Oh -- the story was that Stephen Hawking (and/or his people) called Kevin and said he wanted to meet, so Hawking went to Costner's house and it was a bit awkward (although Costner didn't really explain what he meant, when Eddie Redmayne was on he explained that in regular conversation there are long pauses while Hawking composes his words) and then Kevin cut to the chase and asked, "What do you want to talk about?" and apparently Stephen Hawking wanted to meet Kevin Costner to talk about

Whitney Houston in The Bodyguard.

  And everyone on the couch was kind of baffled and Graham said, "I think that is the oddest story we have ever had on this show."

Edited April 15, 2016 by dusang

[SmithW6079]

Kevin Costner is, for me, one of those actors whom I've never been sure if they're good or bad (Keanu Reeves is another), but I was really impressed by him during the clip they showed of his new movie. I was glad, because I was getting second-hand embarrassment during his rambling stories and his tongue-tied-ness. Does he not do chat shows?

Ricky Gervais did nothing that really changed my opinion of how much I dislike him, but I did laugh out loud when -- after Graham told Helen Mirren she was too "posh" to have been a carny -- Gervais said, "She was 'common' then." (I love when the British make the distinction between "posh" and "common.")

I had no idea Eric Bana was as hot as he was. I mean, I guess I did on some level, but I've haven't seen many of his movies. I also did not know he was Australian. (I did like him in "The Finest Hours," but he's American in that.)

Meaghan Trainor's song had a catchy-enough beat, but the lyrics were eye-rollingly bad.

How long is Graham's show? He didn't talk at all to Meaghan, there's a Kevin Costner story that was apparently cut, and no red chair (which I didn't mind; I don't care for most of those segments -- I always get embarrassed for those people). Can the cut scenes be seen online?

Edited April 16, 2016 by SmithW6079

[molshoop]

 

It's too bad what happened because both Waterworld and The Postman are good movies.  Much better than the box office or most people's impression of the movies.  IMHO of course but I enjoyed the heck out of them.

 

             I really enjoyed them too. And I liked  Heaven's Gate.

 

             I wonder how many people who say these movies are awful have actually seen them. 

 

             Since post-apocalyptic/dystopian movies and TV are really popular now, I think

             Waterworld and The Postman would have done much better today.

[attica]

I didn't mind Waterworld (except that we were meant to believe in a flooded, dystopic world's unfettered access to cigarettes and boat-gasoline); never saw Postman.

 

I loved Graham's rosy jacket. So nice. I wouldn't mind it in my own closet. 

Ricky Gervais did nothing that really changed my opinion of how much I dislike him,

 

See, now, I think Ricky's a treasure. A dyspeptic, misanthropic treasure. I wouldn't mind if he told fewer fat jokes, but other than that, he's aces in my book.

 

I want to see Ewan's movie. But can somebody tell my why on earth you would cast Damien Lewis if you're going to dye his glorious hair?!

[TexasGal]

Too many people, meant not enough Ewan which made me sad.

Costner was a pretty painful storyteller to me, but I did like that in his little intro ramble he acknowledged that he was making no sense. So I give him points for that. And, I really thought he was going to look much scarier in the film given Graham's build up to people seeing him on the street and being shocked.

[SmithW6079]

See, now, I think Ricky's a treasure. A dyspeptic, misanthropic treasure. I wouldn't mind if he told fewer fat jokes, but other than that, he's aces in my book.

Who sold out and now shills for Verizon Wireless, just like every other celebrity who does commercials.

[StatisticalOutlier]

Costner was a pretty painful storyteller to me, but I did like that in his little intro ramble he acknowledged that he was making no sense. So I give him points for that.

 

I found Costner's storytelling excruciating.  There's an art to telling a story where people don't know where it's going, but that's not what he was doing.  I know I was rapt but only because I felt like I was trying to pull the words out of his mouth and point them in a direction, any direction. 

 

Kevin came on late, for no apparent reason except that he was possibly too nervous to be on the couch the whole time.

 

Then he misplayed that because by coming out late, there was a huge focus on just him.  To his detriment.

[theatremouse]

I was annoyed there was no time for stories from the red chair because they let him meander on with that story for so long, and if he were a red chair person not Kevin Costner, he'd have been flipped about three sentences in.

At least red chair shenanigans are usually funny. That was some self indulgent storytelling if ever I heard it. He could've told the same thing, with all the same meaningful beats to get to the point in 1/3 the words, which is hilarious since the damn story was about him criticizing a writer.

Edited April 17, 2016 by theatremouse

[dubbel zout]

I found Costner's storytelling excruciating.

Same here, and he never seemed to look anyone in the eye. That drove me crazy. He was turned away from Graham for nearly the entire time.

 

His movie looks like trashy fun, though.

[peeayebee]

Same here, and he never seemed to look anyone in the eye. That drove me crazy. He was turned away from Graham for nearly the entire time.

He sometimes turned back to Graham, but I really appreciated that he was including the whole couch as he told his story, so I didn't see this the same as you. I don't think he's built for talk shows. As he was telling his stories, I felt like he would be really enjoyable at a dinner party or some other kind of party where people have long conversations. I could picture him sitting in a living room with a few friends telling these stories. 

 

As for the rest of the guests, I thought everyone was fun. I didn't know Eric Bana was Australian, and I can't picture him doing stand-up. I've also never really been impressed with him in any movie. This one with Gervais might be really fun and funny or a big dud. I saw that it's a Netflix movie. It's available April 29.

 

Ewan McGregor's looks good. BTW, I was worried that I'd missed The Night Manager. This six-part miniseries premieres in the U.S. April 19 on AMC.

[dubbel zout]

Just to clarify, McGregor isn't in The Night Manager; he's in another Le Carré adaption called Our Kind of Traitor. It won't be out until this summer.

Edited April 17, 2016 by dubbel zout

[peeayebee]

Right. I know he was promoting Our Kind of Traitor, but Graham mentioned The Night Manager, and I suddenly thought I had missed it.

[StatisticalOutlier]

I wonder about Kevin Costner.  A few years ago I spent the day behind the scenes at the Jimmy Kimmel show because my friend works there.  The guests were Kevin Costner and Harry Connick, Jr. 

 

When my friend and I got back from lunch, we came through the front door, into the front lobby they use for music performances.  They were starting rehearsal, so I stuck around up there and was surprised that it was Costner performing and not Connick.  In what universe does THAT happen?  But it turns out that Connick was there promoting American Idol (?).  Maybe that's why he didn't perform, and maybe Costner doesn't like to do talk shows and finagled his way into performing to use up some of his air time.

 

There were only maybe 10 people (crew and staff) there, so I stuck around for the rehearsal because hey, it's a famous movie star right there.  But as it turned out, he had a sore throat (and a big scarf around his neck) and was kind of creaking his songs, and maybe he didn't feel that well but he was kind of bossy and a little surly.  Maybe his band members really were screwing up or whatever, but it's Kevin Costner's band, not Harry Connick's, so let's have some perspective.

 

Turns out his throat didn't get any better and they had to ditch the musical performance entirely.  I remember nothing from his chat with Kimmel.

 

I'm not sure why I'm sharing this.  Maybe to draw a parallel between his being on Kimmel with Harry Connick and being the one to perform music, or being on Graham Norton and not being on the couch from the get-go with losers like Helen Mirren.  We'll never know if any of this was at his instigation, but I know what I want to believe.

 

As for where he was looking, it bugged me that he wasn't looking at Norton, but also not at anyone else in particular--just kind of middle space.  The whole thing made me uneasy.

[dusang]

Interesting to read everyone's take on Costner -- I didn't particularly enjoy his storytelling style but it seemed so genuinely awkward and nervous I can't hold it against him.  He hasn't had a big hit in ages and the film he was promoting looked atrocious (it's currently got 26% on Rotten Tomatoes).

 

I did know Eric Bana started with Australian sketch comedy shows (which I have never seen and can't imagine at all) and I loved Ricky drawing the comparison between them starting with sketch comedy and then ultimately becoming handsome action stars.  Although Ricky can be rather grating, I love him on Graham.  He definitely interacts with all other guests and is quick-witted and funny.  One of my favourite Ricky appearances was with Daniel Radcliffe and Jessica Ennis (Team GB track star from London 2012) where "they" came up with a story for a Daniel Radcliffe fanfic site.  By "they" I mean Ricky entirely and I was so impressed with his capacity to work under pressure and come up with a reasonable, workable plot in like 30 seconds. 

[fastiller]

I wonder about Kevin Costner. 

 

<snip>

 

 

I'm not sure why I'm sharing this.  Maybe to draw a parallel between his being on Kimmel with Harry Connick and being the one to perform music, or being on Graham Norton and [his] not being on the couch from the get-go with losers like Helen Mirren.  We'll never know if any of this was at his instigation, but I know what I want to believe.

 

As for where he was looking, it bugged me that he wasn't looking at Norton, but also not at anyone else in particular--just kind of middle space.  The whole thing made me uneasy.

I've always thought -- with zero empirical evidence whatsoever -- that when one or more of the couch comes in late, that it's because of their schedule or similar.  I think GN really enjoys having everyone on at once.

 

Also - just curious: do you really feel HM is a loser, or are you being facetious?

[dubbel zout]

I think the lateness is almost always because of a previous event, unless the show has been edited. I can't think of an example offhand, but I know I've seen an episode that wasn't one consecutive interview.

[Athena]

Graham's show is taped on Thursday evening the night before it airs on Friday (unless it's a special like the NYE ones). More than once, guests have shown half way because they were coming from the premiere of their movie.

 

I am not a big fan of the big couches. I think 3 people with at least one comedian is the optimal number, but I think Graham loves a loaded couch with as many people as he can get it which is why the show overbooks now.

[Quof]

Nothing made me laugh harder than the episode with Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt, who were the only guests for half of the show, then Charlize Theron and Seth MacFarlane came on late, with no explanation.  Given the dance that Tom did to ensure he didn't lose the prime spot on the sofa next to Graham, I can only assume it was because Wee Tom insisted on being the centre of attention.

[StatisticalOutlier]

Also - just curious: do you really feel HM is a loser, or are you being facetious?

 

Facetious.  She's the one person on the couch who I think nobody could dislike.

 

Are the non-original-couch people always late arrivals?  I've seen plenty of them but remember only once when Norton specifically said someone was coming from somewhere else and would be late.  Of course, I get the BBC America version and who knows what's cut from that.

 

Personally, I like a loaded couch.

[dusang]

Facetious.  She's the one person on the couch who I think nobody could dislike.

 

Are the non-original-couch people always late arrivals?  I've seen plenty of them but remember only once when Norton specifically said someone was coming from somewhere else and would be late.  Of course, I get the BBC America version and who knows what's cut from that.

 

Personally, I like a loaded couch.

 

There are two types of "late arrivals" -- the ones where one person joins an ongoing couch, which is usually due to scheduling (and Graham comments on it frequently), and the ones where they split the couch into two totally separate groups, like 'Batch & Johnny Depp and RadDan & McAvoy last season.  However there are also visible power trips (see Mr. Cruise) and obvious demonstrations of respect (see David Attenborough). As no other explanation was given, I suspect Kevin Costner came on late by choice rather than schedule.  Either he was too nervous, too pompous, or a particularly thoughtful PR rep/talent booker realized he could potentially ramble on for the entire timeslot and recommended limiting his digressions to a finite period.

Edited April 20, 2016 by dusang

[fastiller]

Facetious.  She's the one person on the couch who I think nobody could dislike.

 

Are the non-original-couch people always late arrivals?  I've seen plenty of them but remember only once when Norton specifically said someone was coming from somewhere else and would be late.  Of course, I get the BBC America version and who knows what's cut from that.

 

Personally, I like a loaded couch.

Gotcha - and I'm glad it was facetious.  'Cause if you were being serious I may've needed to stand up for my DHM (as if she needs my standing up for her!).

 

I also like the loaded couch; I find it HI-larious when there's a large band for the musical guest (EG: Duran Duran) and they come over to join in and the handshakes/cheek kisses go on and on and on and finally GN shouts "SIT DOWN!!!!"

[Robguerra]

Ewon McGregor looks like Kevin Costner and I think he would make a great Indiana jones