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#1
01/15/2004, 1:48 AM
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Mo Collins
  Full Name: Maureen Ann Collins [news] Date of Birth: July 7th, 1965 Place of Birth: Minneapolis, MN Height / Weight: 5'9" / <unknown> Seasons on MADtv: 4-9 (1998 - 2003) Recurring Characters:
Mo Collins was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on July 7th, 1965. A painfully shy youth, Mo developed her love of improv comedy after becoming involved in a drama class in the 8th grade. She also attended Robbinsdale Armstrong High School and graduated in 1983. Collins attended College for 2 years before quitting to attend Dudley Riggs' Brave New Workshop in Minneapolis, where she honed her improv and sketch writing skills. Collins left after a few years and moved to Florida where she worked for 2 years at Disney Orlando at a improv place called "Pleasure Island". While there Mo met fellow Madtv Castmember Paul Vogt and his brother Peter, and they became not only co workers but close friends. Mo then returned to Minneapolis where she starred in many theater productions and plays. In 1993 Mo married fellow Minnesotan and rock drummer Jimi Englund. They have a son, Cullen who is now 10 years old. Both Husband and Son have appeared on the show with her. When her son was 2, Mo sold her Minneapolis home, packed up her belongings and headed to LA in hopes of making her dreams come true. Within a year, she landed her big break on MadTV. Since then, Collins has made numerous TV appearances and had a starring role in the 2002 movie "Detective Fiction" which made its debut at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. She also appeared in the 1999 short film "Spa" about a woman who enters a spa after being invited there by a relative and refuses to leave. She also appeared in the 2001 film "Factory Accident Sex" Most recently, Mo appeared in the 2003 film "La La Wood", about the life of Jiminy Glick, and recently made a tv appearance on the sitcom "Less Than Perfect". Mo Collins left MADtv on December 12th, 2003 after six seasons as a regular cast member. Where are they now? As of July 2009, Mo is still actively working in Hollywood. She just came off a 4 episode appearance on the final season of According to Jim, and does numerous guest appearances on many different shows, while still taking care of her son, Cullen. Television - Starring Roles:
[return to profile index] [return to forum index] [return to home page] Last edited by tvmanismadformad; 09/09/2016 at 2:18 AM. Reason: Carol Fitty Character Page Added |
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#2
01/15/2004, 2:31 PM
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Quote:
__________________ Morgan & Nik - Nocturnal Twins Forever TRIPOD: LYZZA  ROBBEH :nosmile: NIK  www.myspace.com/nukkasurfer Add me! My Fanfics 
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#3
01/15/2004, 11:30 PM
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So Do I............
__________________ I would rather sit here and accomplish nothing than accomplish something and be considered an inspiration and a role model simply because I use a wheelchair to get around. |
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#4
01/18/2004, 11:55 AM
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:(
" Don't go Mo...
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#5
01/20/2004, 2:32 PM
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Quote:
__________________ Morgan & Nik - Nocturnal Twins Forever TRIPOD: LYZZA ROBBEH :nosmile: NIK www.myspace.com/nukkasurfer Add me! My Fanfics
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#6
02/03/2004, 10:06 PM
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Here's the first of many articles that I found on MO. Happy reading,!
The big Mo; Mo Collins showed off many different faces on the Twin Cities theater scene. "Mad TV" proves she was just getting started.(VARIETY) Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN); 3/10/2000; Justin, Neal Pay attention to the shy girl, the one hiding in the back of the class, who blushes when you say hello. She just might grow up to be a riot. These days, New Hope native Mo Collins is contributing to the insanity of "Mad TV," the irreverent sketch show that makes "Saturday Night Live" seem like a corpse. Before that, she was a versatile talent on the Twin Cities theater scene, cutting it up at Dudley Riggs' Brave New Workshop and honing her dramatic chops at Eye of the Storm Theater. But her first role was as a school wallflower. Collins describes herself as a painfully timid student at Plymouth Junior High School, yanked out of her shell by Ert Jones-Hermerding, a teacher who recruited her for his student improvisation group. "He's the reason I do what I do. The reason," said Collins, 34, during a cocktail party in Los Angeles, recalling the moment when Jones-Hermerding picked her out of the hallway, and also gave her a nickname. "My name was Maureen Collins and he called out to me, `Hey, Mo! Hey, MO!' I didn't know who the hell he was talking about, but everyone started looking at me and I turned beet-red. He said, `Get over here! I'm putting your name up on this wall!' " Jones-Hermerding, who now teaches at Cooper High School in Robbinsdale, said he was instantly impressed with Collins' big, goofy eyes and physical ability. She became a standout in his ambitious troupe, which rehearsed every day and put on three major productions a year. "Sometimes it's a shot in the dark, but with her it was apparent really early on," said Jones-Hermerding, who also recruited character actor Steve Zahn ("Happy, Texas") for one of his improv troupes. "She had a Jim Carrey face and lots of energy. She could jump around and tie herself in knots." Collins got over her shyness quickly - she would go on to be homecoming queen at Armstrong High School - and even returned to her favorite teacher's classroom shortly after graduation to motivate other teenagers. "One group of kids couldn't understand what improvisational comedy was, so I said, `I've got to call Mo,' " Jones-Hermerding said. "She came over and started doing improv with them and it was so incredibly inspirational. One girl sat down, cried and said, `This is the greatest thing I've ever done in my life.' " A mad, mad, mad girl Collins has been showing off her versatility and comedic skills to the country on "Mad TV," starting in fall 1998 with a wicked impression of Cher. Since then, she's satirized Alanis Morissette, Hillary Clinton, Martha Stewart and Anne Heche. She's also introduced some original characters, most notably Lorraine, the picky, peculiar pest she started developing at "Balls," Minneapolis' late-night cabaret show. But Collins doesn't play just for laughs. Last summer, she returned to Minneapolis to star in "Spa," a short movie that premiered last Friday at the Women With Vision Festival at Walker Art Center. Collins portrays an exhausted mother who goes away to a health resort for a weekend, then refuses to leave, suffering a nervous breakdown when her family tries to retrieve her. When they surprise her during a massage, she gets up from the table in her underwear, picks up a high-pressure hose and sprays her shocked husband while her three small children look on. "Spa" director Shelli Ainsworth said she was blown away by Collins' range in that scene. "She's so human, so incredibly naked when she's doing it," she said. "When she's doing it, there's this huge anger, then she looks at the kids and there's this anguish. She can go from A to Z like that. She's very fearless." Despite Collins' goofy reputation, Ainsworth doesn't think of her as another Gilda Radner or Lily Tomlin. She calls her the next Doris Day. Collins also got high marks for her dramatic work at Eye of the Storm, including performances in "Made for a Woman" and "Power Lunch," both written by Alan Ball (Oscar-nominated for his "American Beauty" screenplay). "She's one of those great actresses who is really kind of beautiful, but doesn't play to that or depend on it," Ball said. "She's a character actress in a leading lady's body, like Carole Lombard." But so far, Collins has mostly exhibited her wacky side. After two years of college, she quit and started taking classes at Dudley Riggs. In 1985, she became one of the youngest members of the touring company and performed in a couple of shows on the main stage. "She was very good at developing sketches and bringing something to the table," Riggs said. "A lot of actors that we've had will wait for someone to bring the script to them, but she came in with ideas." Collins said she learned a lot from Riggs about working quickly and trusting one's instincts. She claims that Riggs ended up firing her because he was jealous that she was going to do another show in town. Riggs said he doesn't recall firing her, but does remember thinking that Collins probably wasn't going to stay with the troupe very long. "She was quite young at the time, looking for other opportunities, and maybe it [the Workshop] didn't serve her as well as it has served other people," he said. In 1989, Collins moved to Florida to help launch Disney World's improv troupe, an experience that she found stifling. Disney managers didn't like her edgy, political material. "I'd come off the stage and they'd say, `Maureen, that was real good, real funny, but if you're going to talk about the war, be pro-war,' " she said. In the end, the three-year stint only made her homesick. "I came back with my tail between my legs," she said. "Minneapolis is the creme de la creme and Florida, I believe, is for reptiles. Humans are not supposed to live there." Collins' profile grew upon her return as she balanced dramatic roles at Eye of the Storm with sketch comedy at Bryant-Lake Bowl. For a while, it looked as if Collins would be a permanent member of the local theater scene, especially after marrying rock drummer Jimi Englund and having a son, now 4. But despite their love for the Twin Cities, Collins and Englund decided to take a chance and move west. "We had to ask ourselves, what kind of people are we going to be? What kind of parents are we going to be?" she said. "Are we going to be the kind that sort of stay on an even keel line, which eventually tips down, or do we want to push our limits? We wanted to be a good example of going for your dreams." __________________ I would rather sit here and accomplish nothing than accomplish something and be considered an inspiration and a role model simply because I use a wheelchair to get around. |
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#7
02/03/2004, 10:20 PM
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Mo Collins' finest moments.(VARIETY)
Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN); 3/10/2000 Excerpts from Star Tribune reviews of Mo Collins' theater work in the Twin Citi.es: "The Kathy and Mo Show: Parallel Lives" (Campus Live Theatre) - "The funniest skit is a mime piece by Collins in which she goes through the daily dressing and preening routine of many women. From crawling out of bed to a brief battle with unsightly hairs, struggling with pantyhose, dousing with a quick shower and a quicker hair drying, it is, as its title says, a `Silent Torture.' Collins captures every event, detail and brush stroke with skill, never losing the audience." - Peter Vaughan, June 3, 1992 "Temp Trilogy" (Theatre 911) - "The best sketch of the evening is Mo Collins' `Merry Christmas, By the By,' in which Collins deliciously portrays a meek, self-sacrificing temp who engineers her own dismissal after eight years of faithful, unappreciated service." - P.V., Dec. 14, 1993 "Made for a Woman" (Eye of the Storm) - "Mo Collins preens and poses wearing a pink party dress that makes her look like a drooping petunia." - Mike Steele, Jan. 10, 1994 "Fat Men in Skirts" (Eye of the Storm) - "The most memorable performance is given by Mo Collins in the dual roles of Hogan's mistress and an overly amorous mental patient. Collins, a standup comedian of some renown, finds an edgy sensuality for the first role and a consuming insecurity and passion for the second." - P.V., Aug. 2, 1994 "The Big Slam" (Eye of the Storm) - "[Collins] makes Stephanie a corporate shark. During the course of the play, Stephanie reduces each of the other characters to shreds with withering anger and perception. Collins delivers these screeds with the conviction of Marcia Clark going after O.J., but manages to convey an underlying softness." - P.V., Oct. 22, 1995 "All in the Timing" (New Classic Theatre) - "Mo Collins displays polished comic timing and a serious amount of spunk in her roles, playing a whooping chimp in a baby-doll dress with a level of commitment that a lesser actor would reserve for Shakespeare." - Carolyn Petrie, Oct. 22, 1996 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nickname showed Mo Collins new side of self.(ENTERTAINMENT) Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN); 6/2/1996; Vaughan, Peter When she was growing up in New Hope, Mo Collins was known as Maureen, and she was as shy as they came. Then her favorite high-school teacher, who was also the drama coach, christened her Mo and asked her to join his improv group. "He split the personality, and I became Mo, and Mo was funny," said Collins, who will costar with Kevin Kling in the premiere of "Hate Mail," a spoof of A.R. Gurney's "Love Letters" that opens Friday at the Loring Bohemian Playhouse in an Eye of the Storm Theatre production. Collins, 30, plays a photographer who works in a New York City souvenir shop in the play by Bill Corbett and Kira Obolensky. Kling portrays a wealthy Twin Cities tourist who buys a crystal snow globe. After it breaks on the way home, he initiates an acrimonious correspondence that is carried on by fax, e-mail, post card and Post-it notes for years. "Hate Mail" is Collins' fifth play for Eye of the Storm, whose artistic director, Casey Stangl, has given her a place on the stage after years of stand-up comedy and improv in the Twin Cities and Orlando, Fla. In person, Collins bounces between the diffident, modest Maureen - who is married, has a year-old son and loves to garden - and Mo, who has been making a living as a performer for 10 years and relishes combat with the "junky audiences" she often finds at her comedy gigs. "Offstage, I'm a little bit of both," she said. "When I'm Mo, I'm trying to crack jokes. Maureen is home with the baby and afraid when the phone rings." Collins got her professional start as a member of Dudley Riggs' touring troupe and stayed for three years before landing a job with the Walt Disney organization in Orlando, where she was a member of a four-person act that specialized in clowning and slapstick. She returned to the Twin Cities in 1992 and made her first straight theatrical appearance in a Buzzworks Theatre production of Tina Howe's "Painting Churches." She did stand-up at a number of local comedy clubs and costarred in a play at Campus Live Theatre. She first acted for Eye of the Storm in a program of one-act comedies by Alan Ball. Subsequently, she has had major roles in that company's "Dog Stories," "Fat Men In Skirts" and the premiere of Corbett's "The Big Slam." Her roles have ranged from the loopy to the avaricious, and she has invariably given them a memorable and humorous stamp. Of her current character, she notes, "She's not so loopy - though she's not necessarily stable, though she can pretend to be. She's manipulating." "Hate Mail" opens with an 8:15 p.m. Friday benefit performance for Eye of the Storm, and then plays Fridays and Saturdays at 10:45 p.m. through July 13 at the Loring Playhouse, 1633 Hennepin Av. S., Minneapolis. Tickets: $25 for the Friday benefit, then $8. 332-1619. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Near-nude `MadTV' spot leaves mom kinda mad; Mo Collins' mom would prefer seeing her in flannel gown instead of flesh.(NEWS) Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN); 5/9/1999; Johnson, Cheryl 1/3 When your daughter is a star on Fox's off-beat "MadTV" show, sometimes "you've got to look the other way," said Winnie Collins, of the metro. Especially when your darling is scantily clad for a wicked parody of Alanis Morissette. "She did that Alanis Morissette thing, and I e-mailed her, `I hope to God that is as close as you get to a nude scene.' She had on a body suit. As a mother, my eyes would [prefer] her in a flannel nightgown," Winnie said. Sorry, Mom, but that was no body suit behind the digitally scrambled body. "I don't think you can get any more naked without being on a different channel," said Mo Collins, a Dudley Riggs alum. Told that Winnie thought it was a body suit, Mo said, "Oh, no. Oh, Mom. I think that's in her dreams. I had on a flesh-colored G-string and pasties glued to . . ." To see the Morissette skit again, reader should watch for the "MadTV" rerun with the heavy Minnesota accent. That show also featured "The Artist Formerly Known as the Prince of Egypt"; Gov. Jesse Ventura installing a new lieutenant governor, wrestler Brett (The Hitman) Hart, to bust the heads of media types; and Pillsbury's Poppin' Fresh as a gun-toting kitchen psycho. The sexual overtones of the Prince sketch went too far for me. Mo's mom estimates that "80 percent" of the show "is raunchy. If I had my druthers, my darling little [Mo] would not be on a show like that. I'm a good Irish Catholic mom. But's she made it to the top of her game; I'm real proud of that." Mo and I agreed that her show is often much funnier than "Saturday Night Live." She had an explanation: "Our sketches are better. We have beginnings, middles and endings." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hate Mail' depends on antic Kevin Kling; Eye of Storm play spoofs `Love Letters'.(VARIETY)(Review) (theater review) Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN); 6/11/1996; Vaughan, Peter At this point in its young life, "Hate Mail" might better be titled "Another Kevin Kling Show." Kling is paired with the talented Mo Collins in Bill Corbett's and Kira Obolensky's loopy and inventive spoof of A.R. Gurney's "Love Letters," which traced the lengthy and affectionate relationship between a man and a woman through their correspondence. The gimmick in "Hate Mail" is that it is acrimony, not love, that keeps the communications flowing between Dahlia, a would-be photographic artist, and Preston Dennis Jr., a wealthy, mercurial wastrel played by Kling. The play begins promisingly with a lengthy correspondence built around Preston's attempts to get a refund for a faulty plastic snow globe he bought in a New York City souvenir shop where Dahlia is the assistant manager. Their letters chronicle a rising tide of venom and insult, and eventually result in her getting fired and him realizing that he is a person of little worth who needs help - from almost anyone, though from Dahlia would be nice. At this point, "Hate Mail" loses its tight focus and drifts into incredible hyperbole. Preston becomes increasingly detached from reality, joins a cult, continues to pursue Dahlia and is revealed as a fatally flawed mama's boy. Dahlia, in contrast, continues to be a free spirit of limited ability and high hopes. Their relationship sputters, glows, descends into petty bickering and heavy abuse and then winds up pretty much where it began, thanks to an unlikely encounter on the Internet. Preston is Kling's kind of guy. Here is a character with a half-dozen distinctive and eccentric incarnations. Kling flings himself into every one with glee and sharp comic timing as he has in previous roles of his own writing, especially his celebrated one-man show "21-A." In lesser hands, Preston might sink into self-parody, but Kling can bring him home as a deranged, ever-shifting model of a distressed person answering bells no one else can hear. Collins gives him strong support, sticking to the far more limited horizons Corbett and Obolensky have given her character. She is at her most effective in the acid and wonderfully funny exchanges of insults throughout the one-act play, which lasts nearly 90 minutes. The play is very much a prisoner of its satirical purpose. As long as it remains grounded in reality, it is funny and sometimes even moving, as when Dahlia tosses away her bitter writing to reveal how Preston has cost her her job, apartment and medical insurance, perhaps even her career. As it moves ever further from the lives of ordinary people into the rarefied domain of cults and major mental problems, it loses sharpness and becomes more silly than comical. It's the plot, not the dialogue, that fails Corbett and Obolensky. Their repartee is consistently bright and, in spots, inspired, as they cleverly construct jokes that count on the audience to fill in the punch line. Its problems aside, "Hate Mail" always engages thanks to Kling's magical ability to combine comic timing, physical gesture and antic mien to full effect. What will happen when Kling is replaced by Michael J. Nelson of the TV show "Mystery Science Theatre 3000" is anybody's guess. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Detective Fiction.(Movie Review) (movie review) Variety; 2/24/2003; McCarthy, Todd A Ten Ten Films and Farnam Street Ltd. presentation. Produced by Paul Johnson. Executive producer, Michael McHugh. Directed, written by Patrick Coyle, based on his play. Camera (Alpha-Cine color), Gregory R. Winter; editor, Jeffrey Stickles; music, Jimi Englund, Greg Herzenach; production designer, James R. Bakkom; costume designer, Deborah Fiscus; sound, John Simms; sound editor/designer, Rick Meyer; line producer, Mary Rapacke; associate producers, Lily Baber Coyle, Andrew Jett; assistant director, Dan Orozco; casting, Lynn Blumenthal, Sarah-Jane Hill. Reviewed at Sundance Film Festival (American Spectrum), Jan. 20, 2003. Running time: 102 MIN. Jennifer Hannan Mo Collins Jack Hannan Patrick Coyle Leslie Sarah Agnew Elliot Brent Doyle Modestly engaging "Detective Fiction" illustrates a cuckolded husband's efforts to channel his anger through a creative outlet. In turning his 1994 play into his first feature film, Minneapolis-based actor-writer-director Patrick Coyle never really gets past the literal-minded and earthbound conception of his piece. But solid thesping and sympathy developed for a couple anxious to work out of a marriage-threatening crisis give grownup audiences something to grab on to. Title, however apt, suggests pulpy thrills that aren't attempted, much less delivered, and while supportive reviews might float a small theatrical launch, wider viewership looks to lie down the line on cable and homevid. It's easy to imagine this emotional drama as a stage play, what with its surfeit of two-character scenes and blackoutlike switches from domestic turmoil to tough-guy revenge fantasies. Childless, fortyish marrieds Jack (Coyle) and Jennifer (Mo Collins) are barely communicating, except in occasional therapy sessions. Having abandoned social work and returned to college for fresh stimulation, Jennifer has found additional stimulation in the arms of half-her-age student Elliot (Brent Doyle), although at pic's outset she tries to break off the relationship. Jack, by contrast, has retreated into a fantasy world, locking himself in his study to dictate a Chandleresque novel that provides some release for his suspicions about Jennifer. A technical writer by trade and an alcoholic who's been sober for a year, Jack feels compelled to keep his project secret from his wife, and his remoteness strongly exacerbates the voidlike atmosphere that has settled around the spacious house. Jack and Jennifer relate to one another not so much with distaste as with painful tentativeness. Whereas Jack has decided to work through their difficulties his own way, and alone, Jennifer, who clearly still loves her husband, makes periodic efforts to break through the ice. Film's most poignant moments are those in which Jennifer, with various degrees of timidity, caution and humor, tries to test the waters to see if any real contact with Jack is possible. Unfortunately, it isn't, as he insists upon pushing his creative confrontation with his real-life problems to the limit; only then, perhaps, can a new chapter in their lives be written. Cinematically, Twin Cities-lensed film is competent but unexciting, leaving it to the actors to carry the day. A bit strait-laced and sincere to give the maximum resonance to stoical tough-guy attitudes, Coyle still knows this material better than anyone and gives nice deep-voiced readings to his decent, if not inspired, dialogue. Collins ("Mad TV") is very good as a woman whose surreptitious behavior stands in stark opposition to her fine basic nature. Outstanding artistic contribution is the highly original score by Jimi Englund and Greg Herzenach, the jazzy basis of which doesn't prevent it from significantly cranking up the mystery quotient when needed. Blowup from Super-16 to 35mm looks perfectly decent. __________________ I would rather sit here and accomplish nothing than accomplish something and be considered an inspiration and a role model simply because I use a wheelchair to get around. |
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#9
02/09/2004, 1:00 PM
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More Mo articles from Highbeam.com This is a paragraph taken from an article from the January 12,2004 edition of the Toronto Star newpaper.
"The blackjack bash - to promote GSN's new six-part World Series Of Blackjack, is part of the only other evident trend to emerge at this early stage of the mid-season tour: card gambling as a spectator sport. Discovery's Travel Channel has had particularly good luck in this regard, pulling in unprecedented numbers with their own World Poker Tour and its all-star offshoot, the Hollywood Home Game - apparently, the only thing their viewers enjoy more than watching people play poker is watching famous people play poker. The cable contingent's opening nighter was also a card-themed event, a night of full-on "Texas Hold 'Em" poker alongside the experts and celebrity players like Richard Karn, John Ratzenberger, Lou Diamond Phillips, Fred Savage, Lolita Davidovich and Mad TV's Mo Collins. Davidovich and Collins both professed an escalating passion for the often intuitive and highly strategic game, in which being female can prove an advantage. "Guys don't expect women to play aggressively," confided Collins. "It confuses the hell out of them." For example, that notorious sexist loon, Gary Busey. "I think I blew his mind," she grinned. ("I think he beat you to it," I suggest.) But her proudest moment was the night she surprised the actor-turned-director - and poker veteran - Jon (Elf) Favreau. "He didn't see it coming. He just pushed back from the table, looked at me and said, 'Nicely played.' He was definitely impressed." And who knows? It could pay off down the line. Not financially - the celebrity players' winnings all go to their charity of choice - but possibly professionally. "Mrs. Elf?" Collins laughed. "Yeah, I'm up for that." __________________ I would rather sit here and accomplish nothing than accomplish something and be considered an inspiration and a role model simply because I use a wheelchair to get around. |
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#10
02/09/2004, 1:01 PM
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Thanks scorpio, its ALWAYS good reading about Mo.
__________________ [color= red] Cake. it my favorite. Cake. I wish I had some now. Cake. It comes in flavors like chocolate and regular. Cake. DON'T FORGET THE FROSTING. Cake. Share it with a friend. [/color] ___________________ |
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#11
02/09/2004, 1:05 PM
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Here's another older one from the Minneapolis Star Tribune about the movie Detective Fiction.
Filmmaker finds his place in the sun; Hard work on tiny budget produces Minnesota's first Sundance entry.(NEWS) Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN); 12/3/2002; Covert, Colin Byline: Colin Covert; Staff Writer CORRECTION PUBLISHED 12/04/02: This story incorrectly reported that Patrick Coyle's Detective Fiction" is the first Minnesota-made film to win a place in the Sundance Film Festival. Until Monday, Minneapolis actor Patrick Coyle was best known nationally as the voice of the Hamburger Helper talking hand in TV commercials. Now he's starring in a quintessential Hollywood story of sudden acclaim. His first feature film, a do-it-yourself affair with Coyle writing, directing and starring, beat out approximately 800 others for a coveted spot at January's Sundance Film Festival, the Utah event founded by actor Robert Redford to showcase new works. It's the sort of big break that gives unknown artists a chance to emerge as major talents in world cinema. "Sundance is like a golden wand that's been waved over my life," Coyle said. He's now fielding phone calls from top entertainment lawyers and agents in his bungalow in south Minneapolis. The newfound buzz has left his head spinning. "I'm a 43-year-old overnight success," he said, laughing. "I'm so naive I don't even know who to lie to." Coyle's "Detective Fiction" is the first Minnesota-made film to win a place in the highly competitive indie showcase where studio power brokers troll for new talent. The festival has launched the careers of filmmakers Quentin Tarantino, Wes Anderson, Steven Soderbergh and St. Louis Park's Joel and Ethan Coen, whose Texas-produced "Blood Simple" won top prize at the first Sundance Film Festival in 1985. Coyle's film is a dark psychological drama of addiction and infidelity, but its journey to the screen played out more like a Horatio Alger story, an up-by-your-bootstraps tale of determination in the face of formidable challenges. Coyle has scarcely any experience behind a camera, though he has appeared in scores of industrial films and commercials. "I'm not an insider with the local film community," which initially was skeptical about his film's prospects, he said. "I'm the annoying actor who asks questions on every film I'm in." Even so, he didn't have all the answers. The first day of his monthlong shoot, he was bedeviled by a balky camera that wouldn't run for more than 20 minutes straight. Things seemed to be back on track when he replaced the machine. Then, a week into production, Coyle discovered that he was using the wrong film stock. The 102-minute feature was shot in a hasty four weeks and rushed through the postproduction process in three months, half the time usually budgeted for such projects. The film was finished the night before it was screened for investors at Oak Street Cinema and "we literally skidded up to the Sundance application deadline." The production faced uniquely local challenges, as well. "The film takes place in a seedy urban underbelly, and that's not too easy to find in squeaky-clean Minnesota," Coyle said. He solved the problem by taking a driving tour of every disreputable location he could find and editing them together. "Detective Fiction" had a couple of uniquely Minnesotan assets, however. Actress Mo Collins, a Dudley Riggs alum and longtime cast member of Fox's "Mad TV," returned home to work for two weeks as Coyle's costar. "It was really great, intense, long 12-hour days," she said. "Everybody gave so much. When I got the script, I could immediately see the potential of it, and I think everybody else did, too." Collins' husband, Jimi Englund, who drummed for the local '90s band Hindu Rodeo, scored the film - his first - long distance from his North Hollywood home. He credited Coyle's "old-fashioned Midwestern work ethic" for bringing in the film on a $200,000 budget. "It looks and sounds like a movie," he said. Money was a continual concern. Less than a shoestring Coyle calls their budget "not a shoestring, but the aglet on a shoestring." When the time came to submit the film to Sundance, said his wife, Lily Baber Coyle, "we put our home phone number on the application because we weren't sure if we were going to have the $200 rent on Patrick's rattrap office, or if the phone would be connected.". Because the film was made without full financing in place, the state's Snowbate incentive program was a lifesaver. The program, unique in the nation, refunds a portion of production money spent in Minnesota. A $9,000 check arrived in the nick of time, enabling completion of the soundtrack. Coyle's work is far from over. He's engaged in a second round of fundraising to pay for the film's transfer to 35mm, and taking advice from Sundance veterans about how to get the right people into his screenings. "My sisters are all beautiful and great dancers. I'm going to slap `Detective Fiction' T-shirts on them and generate a little buzz," he said. Collins said she believes the film's Midwestern origins will be a selling point. "I think that'll be part of its momentum," she said. "It's this great thing out of Minnesota, like the little engine that could. The idea that it's going to Sundance is just - pure disbelief. The chances were slim it could get this far. And it did. And it's still going." __________________ I would rather sit here and accomplish nothing than accomplish something and be considered an inspiration and a role model simply because I use a wheelchair to get around. |
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#12
02/09/2004, 1:27 PM
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Another thing that I thought was an interesting read, its mainly about SNL's female cast but it also mentions Mo and Nicole and MadTV briefly.
Funny girls; "Saturday Night Live," TV's boisterous boys' club, has suffered from a lack of female voices - until now.(VARIETY) Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN); 10/26/2002; Justin, Neal Byline: Neal Justin; Staff Writer Women should stay to home to raise babies, cook dinner and mix martinis for their men. If they must venture out, they should be relegated to the background on "Saturday Night Live." That long appeared to be the philosophy at NBC's late-night institution, where females were rarely asked to do more than be devoured by land sharks and go gaga over wild 'n' crazy guys. But in recent years, the 28-year-old show, which prides itself on being progressive, has been encouraging women to get major exposure - and major laughs. While the cast continues to be roughly two-thirds male, females are now likelier to be among the breakout stars. Cheri Oteri and Molly Shannon were major reasons for the show's resurgence in the late '90s. Rachel Dratch and Maya Rudolph are responsible for some of the smartest bits this season. Tina Fey, the show's first female head writer, has brought much needed spunk to "Weekend Update." And Beth McCarthy Miller, only the show's fourth director, has been at the reins since 1995. It's also interesting to note the trend of guest hosts. Until the 1999-2000 season, only 24 percent were women. The past two years, that number has been 45 percent. Ask current female cast members about the gender gap and they'll shrug it off, which may be the biggest indicator of progress. "I think it's an old question now," said Rudolph, whose impression of designer Donatella Versace has become a staple of the show. "I just feel like I haven't experienced those problems since I've been here." Dratch said it's a waste of time to worry about discrimination. Putting on a weekly live show is tough enough as it is. "If you go in there like, `Well, my scene didn't get in because I'm a woman,' then you're just defeating yourself," she said. "You just have to keep putting your energy into creating your own characters." `SNL' was a boys' club But according to the compelling new book "Live From New York - An Uncensored History of `Saturday Night Live,' " it was hard to be an optimistic female in the early days. Sure, Gilda Radner was a breakout star, but it would take 12 years after she left for another one (Jan Hooks) to emerge. In the book, Jane Curtin says that some of the original Not-Ready-For-Prime-Time Players wouldn't do sketches if they believed they were written by women. "John [Belushi] absolutely didn't like being in sketches with women," she said. "He told me women were not funny. Actually, Chevy [Chase] said it to me, as well. And I found it stunning." If the show wasn't a great showcase for women in the first five years, it was even worse when producer Lorne Michaels left in 1980. Until he came back in 1985, women barely had any stage time at all. (Of course, for much of that period it was pretty much "The Eddie Murphy Show"). Michaels, to his credit, has given women significant roles behind the camera and in the writing room. "As a survivor, I tend to always go to the strengths," Michaels said in an interview. "If people are sparkling, you tend to go there. I think the women who are on the show now are certainly as good as anybody who has ever been on the show." But even with Michaels' influence, talented women rarely flourished on the show until the past few years. Joan Cusack, Sarah Silverman, Julia-Louis Dreyfus and Janeane Garofalo are among the former cast members who failed to make an impression on "SNL." Women on the verge The times have slowly, but surely, changed. "Mad TV," which began in 1995, has been carried mostly on the shoulders of women such as Nicole Sullivan and Minnesota's own Mo Collins. Female comics, including Bonnie Hunt, Rosie O'Donnell and Whoopi Goldberg, have cultivated more power in recent years, as well. Fey thinks that's because more women are taking comedy seriously. "When I first went to Chicago and did improv, the classes would be two women and 10 guys," she said. "But more women are just doing it now." Despite the progress they've made, there is still one major obstacle: the movies. While performers such as Chase, Mike Myers and Adam Sandler became major film stars, women have yet to strike it big. Dratch said it's still difficult for goofy leading ladies to be accepted on the big screen. "It seems like you can have the dumpy guy film star, but you can't really have the dumpy woman film star," she said. "You might even be too weird to play the best friend of the movie star. But hopefully, through writing, we can sort of empower ourselves as movie stars." Rudolph is also confident that will change. "I've never felt like anything is going to stop me from doing what I feel naturally inclined to do," she said. "To me it's not about, `Hey, there's not enough women here, let's see if I'll be the first to break out.' If I want to do it, I'm going to do it." With that kind of attitude - and talent - "SNL" women will be even more prominent in the future. They might even fix one other teeny-weeny problem, according to Fey: "I just think it's weird that we don't get paid." - Neal Justin is at njustin@startribune.com. PEAKS AND PRATFALLS Here's how women have fared during various eras on "SNL." 1975-80: Gilda Radner emerges as a go-to goof; Jane Curtin reads the news. 1981-85: Major dame drought. Mary Gross is Alfalfa. Julia Louis-Dreyfus is ... nobody special. 1986-90: Jan Hooks is a gem with more than 35 impressions. Nora Dunn's most memorable moment is walking out on host Andrew Dice Clay. 1991-95: Julia Sweeney keeps them guessing with Pat. Janeane Garofalo has a terrible time - and lets everyone know it. 1996-99: Cheri Oteri and Molly Shannon play a huge role in the show's resurgence. 2000-02: Head writer Tina Fey revitalizes "Weekend Update." Rachel Dratch and Maya Rudolph make their presence known. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This one isnt that interesting. Its an awards nomination list for some hairstyle awards or something........But It does mention Mo and Michael so I thought I'd post it anyway Paul Mitchell Announces Presenting Sponsorship of Fourth Annual Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Awards. Business Wire; 2/10/2003 Entertainment Editors HOLLYWOOD--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 10, 2003 Awards to Take Place Sunday, February 16 at Beverly Hilton Hotel The international hair care manufacturer John Paul Mitchell Systems is proud to announce its presenting sponsorship of The Fourth Annual Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Awards(R). 1,000 entertainment industry celebrities, professionals and guests will attend the 2003 gala black tie event to take place Sunday, February 16 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The evening will be aired as a special on The Style Network (complete details will be announced shortly). "The contributions of Hollywood makeup artists and hair stylists too often goes unnoticed," said John Paul DeJoria, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of John Paul Mitchell Systems. "As the company devoted to the success of professional hairdressers, we are proud to be associated with this outstanding event that recognizes their talents and achievements." Nominations were announced on January 22. In a new development for this year's awards, actors will also be eligible to receive awards in five categories; Best Character Makeup for a Feature Film, Best Character Makeup for a Television Series, Best Character Hairstyling for a Feature Film, Best Character Hairstyling for a Television Series and Best Special Makeup Effects for a Feature Film. The 1,700 active members of the Guild selected the nominees. Following is a complete list of the nominations: Motion Picture Nominees ----------------------- Best Contemporary Makeup for a Feature Film ------------------------------------------- "8 Mile" (Universal Pictures) Donald Mowat Ronnie Specktor Matiki Anoff "Spiderman" (Sony Pictures) Deborah Lamia Denaver Bill Myer Lois Burwell "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" (IFC) Ann Brodie Best Period Makeup for a Feature Film ------------------------------------- "Road to Perdition" (DreamWorks Pictures/20th Century Fox) Daniel C. Striepeke Ron Snyder "Frida" (Miramax Films) Judy Chin Maryann Marchetti John Jackson "Chicago" (Miramax Films) Samuel Jordan Patricia Keighran Edelgard Pfuegl Best Character Makeup for a Feature Film ---------------------------------------- "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" (New Line Cinema) Peter King Peter Owen Elijah Wood(a) "Master of Disguise" (Sony Pictures) Kevin Yagher Michelle Vittone-McNeil Dana Carvey(a) "Red Dragon" (Universal Pictures) Julie Pearce Randy Westgate Matthew Mungle Ken Diaz Ralph Fiennes(a) Best Special Makeup Effects for a Feature Film ---------------------------------------------- "Frida" (Miramax Films) Matthew Mungle Judy Chin John E. Jackson Salma Hayek(a) "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" (Warner Bros. Pictures) Amanda Knight Jane Royle Clare LeVesconte Kenneth Branagh(a) "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" (New Line Cinema) Gino Acevedo Jason Docerty Richard Taylor Elijah Wood(a) Best Contemporary Hairstyling for a Feature Film ------------------------------------------------ "Die Another Day" (MGM Pictures) Colin Jamison "Sorority Boys" (Buena Vista Pictures) Donna Gilbert Joanne Harris "Sweet Home Alabama" (Buena Vista Pictures) Anne Morgan Best Period Hairstyling for a Feature Film ------------------------------------------ "Gangs of New York" (Miramax Films) Aldo Signoretti "Austin Powers in Goldmember" (New Line Cinema) Candy Walken Jeri Sadler Sue Kalinowski "Frida" (Miramax Films) Beatrice DeAlba Best Character Hairstyling for a Feature Film --------------------------------------------- "Austin Powers in Goldmember" (New Line Cinema) Candy Walken Jeri Sadler Sue Kalinowski Mike Meyers(a) "Frida" (Miramax Films) Beatrice DeAlba Salma Hayek(a) "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" (New Line) Peter Owen Peter King Liv Tyler(a) Television Nominees ------------------- Best Contemporary Makeup for a Television Series ------------------------------------------------ "Alias" (ABC) Angela Nogaro Diane Brown "Sex and the City" (HBO) Nicki Ledermann Judy Chin Kerrie Plant Maryann Marchetti "Six Feet Under" (HBO) Donna Lou Henderson Justin Henderson Michelle Vittone-McNeil Best Period Makeup for a Television Series ------------------------------------------ "Six Feet Under" (HBO) Donna Lou Henderson Justin Henderson Michelle Vittone-McNeil "American Dreams" (NBC) Angela Moos Hayley Cecile Julie Socash American Family (PBS) Ken Diaz John Rizzo Rosie Duprat N. Kristine Chadwick Best Character Makeup for a Television Series --------------------------------------------- "Jamie Kennedy Experiment" (WB) Annie Maniscalco Terrell Simon Edward Emerson French Jamie Kennedy(a) "MADtv" (Fox) Jennifer Aspinall Scott Wheeler Randy Westgate Mo Collins(a) Michael McDonald(a) "Saturday Night Live" (NBC) Louie Zakarian Andrea Miller Jimmy Fallon(a) |
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#13
02/09/2004, 1:32 PM
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CHECK THIS OUT........OUR VERY OWN MO COLLINS WAS NOMINATED A FEW YEARS AGO FOR SOME AWARDS FOR..........GET THIS................READING A STAR WARS BOOK ON TAPE.
APA announces nominees for the third annual audio awards Billboard; 5/9/1998; Horak, Terri Billboard 05-09-1998 APA announces nominees for the third annual audio awards Byline: Horak, Terri Volume: 110 Number: 19 ISSN: 00062510 Publication Date: 05-09-1998 Page: 66 Type: Periodical Language: English NEW YORK-The Audio Publishers Assn. will kick off its Audiobook Month intensive marketing program with the May 30 presentation of the third annual Audie Awards. The winners will be announced at a gala at the McCormick Center in Chicago following the association's annual conference. The Audie Award nominees were announced April 23, and Simon & Schuster Audio and Dove Audio led the list with nine nominations each. Highbridge Co., a multiple-award winner at last year's awards, is second with seven nominations. All told, more than 25 publishers received at least one nomination. Following is an abridged list of Audie Award nominees: Fiction, abridged: "The Book Of Ruth," by Jane Hamilton, read by Mare Winningham; Simon & Schuster Audio. "God's Little Acre," by Erskine Caldwell, read by Burt Reynolds; Dove Audio. "Killer Angels," by Michael Shaara, read by George Hearn; Highbridge Co. Fiction, unabridged: "American Pastoral," by Philip Roth, read by Ron Silver; Dove Audio. "The Breaker," by Kit Denton, read by Terence Donovan; Bolinda Audio Books. "Lolita," by Vladimir Nabokov, read by Jeremy Irons; Random House AudioBooks. Mystery (fiction): "Cimarron Rose," by James Lee Burke, read by Will Patton; Simon & Schuster Audio. "Red Harvest," by Dashiell Hammett, read by William Dufris; Isis Publishing. "Vintage Crime Stories," by Ruth Rendell, Frances Hegarty, E.W. Homung, Graham Greene, Margery Allingham, and Charles Dickens, read by Patrick Malahide; Tangled Web Audio. Nonfiction, abridged: "Bound Feet And Western Dress," by Pang-Mei Natasha Chang, read by the author; Audio Literature. "Wait Till Next Year," by Doris Kearns Goodwin, read by the author; Simon & Schuster Audio. "Women In The Material World," by Faith D'Aluisio and Peter Menzel, read by C.C.H. Pounder, Greg Daniel, Amy Hill, Stephen O'Hara, Maggie Palomo, and Esther Scott; Audio Literature. Personal development (self-help): "The Gift Of Fear," by Gavin De Becker, read by the author; Audio Literature. "The Girlfriend's Guide To Surviving The First Year Of Motherhood," by Vicki Iovine, read by the author; DH Audio/Durkin Hayes. "The Rest Of Us," by Jacquelyn Mitchard, read by the author; Penguin Audiobooks. Business: "Ben & Jerry's Double Dip," by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, read by the authors; Simon & Schuster Audio. "Forbes Great Minds Of Business," by Andrew Grove, Fred Smith, Peter Lynch, Pleasant Rowland, and Paul Volcker, read by the authors; Simon & Schuster Audio. "Pour Your Heart Into It," by Howard Schultz and Dori Jones Yang, read by Eric Conger; Highbridge Co. Children's: "The Amber Brown Collection," by Paula Danziger, read by Alicia Witt; Listening Library Inc. "Hank The Cowdog #29: The Case Of The Vampire Vacuum Sweeper," by John R. Erickson, read by the author; Gulf Publishing Co. "Redwall-Complete Set," by Brian Jacques, read by the author; Listening Library Inc. Humor: "Babyhood," by Paul Reiser, read by the author; Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio. "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency," by Douglas Adams, read by the author; Dove Audio. "Into The Twilight, Endlessly Grousing," by Patrick F. McManus, read by Terry Beaver; Simon & Schuster Audio. Production: "The Angel Of Darkness," by Caleb Carr, read by Boyd Gaines; Simon & Schuster Audio. "The Poetry Of The Romantics," by John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Lord Byron, William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and William Blake, read by Joan Allen, Christopher Cazenove, Julie Christie, Stephen Fry, Jill Eikenberry, Glenda Jackson, Jude Law, Bill Pullman, Roger Rees, Burt Reynolds, Michael Tucker, Blair Underwood, and Orson Welles; Dove Audio. "Star Wars: Dark Forces: Soldier Of The Empire," by William C. Dietz, read by Randall Berger, Chris Block, Virginia Burke, Jim Cada, David Chase,Mo Collins , Patrick Coyle, Bob Davis, Chris Forth, Gary Groomes, Allen Hamilton, Ken Hiller, Peter Moore, and Tim Russell; Highbridge Co. Package design: "Holidays On Ice," by David Sedaris, read by the author, Ann Magnuson, and Amy Sedaris; Time Warner AudioBooks. "Lolita," by Vladimir Nabokov, read by Jeremy Irons; Random House AudioBooks. "Selena: Como La Flor," by Joe Nick Patoski, read by the author; BB Audio. Copyright BPI Communications Inc. May 9, 1998 __________________ I would rather sit here and accomplish nothing than accomplish something and be considered an inspiration and a role model simply because I use a wheelchair to get around. |
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#14
02/16/2004, 3:22 PM
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Her parents are Winnie and Tom Collins
__________________ I would rather sit here and accomplish nothing than accomplish something and be considered an inspiration and a role model simply because I use a wheelchair to get around. |
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#15
03/02/2004, 9:53 AM
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I'm definitly going to miss MO
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#16
03/06/2004, 3:29 PM
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Quote:
__________________ Stuartlover17>>>Meagan |
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#17
03/17/2004, 4:36 PM
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Mo On Ally McBeal & Just Shoot Me
For those of us who just joined the forum and haven't yet seen these.
On Saturday March 27th an old episode of Ally McBeal w/guest star Mo Collins will air at 8 am on the FX network On that same day an old episode of "Just Shoot Me" w/guest star Mo Collins will air at 6pm. Check listings for channel __________________ I would rather sit here and accomplish nothing than accomplish something and be considered an inspiration and a role model simply because I use a wheelchair to get around. |
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#18
03/17/2004, 4:38 PM
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I've joined a while ago, and still havent seen them
 I used to watch Just Shoot Me all the time too. May be Ie seen Mo on just shoot me...anyway, Thanks Scorp!
__________________ [color= red] Cake. it my favorite. Cake. I wish I had some now. Cake. It comes in flavors like chocolate and regular. Cake. DON'T FORGET THE FROSTING. Cake. Share it with a friend. [/color] ___________________ |
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#19
03/18/2004, 12:48 AM
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I think the Just Shoot Me ep is just a local thing. I looked and I found it on the east coast airing the day after on the 28th at 12:30pm, I couldn't find it in my market though.
__________________ As always, please look over the most recent episode guide here and let us know of any additions or corrections. Thank you. |
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#20
03/18/2004, 1:00 PM
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__________________ [color= red] Cake. it my favorite. Cake. I wish I had some now. Cake. It comes in flavors like chocolate and regular. Cake. DON'T FORGET THE FROSTING. Cake. Share it with a friend. [/color] ___________________ |
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