Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 4, 2017)
January 4, 2017 The Skanner Page 7 Arts & Entertainment Shemar Moore: ‘The Bounce Back’ Interview By Kam Williams For The Skanner News S hemar Franklin Moore was born in Oakland, California on April 20, 1970 to an African American father and a mother of Irish and French-Cana- dian extraction. Shem- ar spent his early years abroad with his single mom in Denmark and Bahrain until the two re- turned from the exotic locales in 1977. They settled in Palo Alto, where he graduated from Henry Gunn High School before studying Communications and Theater at Santa Clara University. While still in school, he started mod- eling on the side to help pay the bills. Since college, Shemar has flourished both as an actor and as a fashion model. He’s probably best known for playing Derek Morgan on the TV-series “Criminal Minds” for 11 seasons and for the 8 years he spent prior to that as Malcolm Winters on the popular soap op- era, “The Young and the Restless.” Here, he talks about starring opposite Nadine Velazquez and Bill Bella- my in the big screen re- lease, “The Bounce Back.” Kam Williams: Hi She- mar, thanks for the in- terview. I’m honored to have this opportunity to speak with you. Shemar Moore: Well, I appreciate your tak- ing the time to show me love and to talk about the movie, Kam. KW: What interest- ed you in “The Bounce Back”? SM: It was the sweet, fun script that had been around about a decade. But it’s all about timing. 10 years ago, I was just getting my feet planted with “Criminal Minds.” It didn’t work out with my schedule back then. For- tunately, the script came back around. I thought it was a silly, fun, sweet story that people would like. To be honest, in the beginning, I knew that the transition from “Criminal Minds” was on the horizon, so I started FILM REVIEW: ‘A Monster Calls’ a Bittersweet Escapist Fantasy on The Broth- ers years ago. I knew he could deliver the jokes and bring the relation- ship of being my best friend and manager to life. He liked the idea and we knew Nadine Velazquez from within our cir- cle of friends. We showed her the script. She was interest- ed, and pieces kinda of fell Shemar Moore stars opposite Nadine into place from Velazquez and Bill Bellamy in ‘The Bounce there. And the Back’ next thing you know, here I thinking about the next steps I could take as an was executive producing actor, going forward with the picture, and raising my career. After unsuc- $630,000 through my fan cessfully shopping the base. I call them my Baby script around, I seized Girls. It was a great hug upon the opportunity to and pat on my back that produce the film myself. I they believed in me and said, “Why not go the in- were so loyal to me. I’m dependent route?” I felt very proud that we not that I could identify with only made a movie, but the Matthew Taylor char- got it out into theaters, acter. I just needed some and that my Baby Girl Na- help with the others. So, tion was part of it. I went and found Bill KW: How similar are Bellamy who I’d so much you to your character, fun and chemistry with Matthew Taylor? SM: As an actor, I find the essence and elements of myself in any charac- ter I play. I think I believe a little bit of Matthew’s philosophy and a little bit of Kristin Peralta’s philosophy. One can’t exist without the other. Love is a tricky, beauti- ful, exciting, complicat- ed, elusive entity. But it hits when you least ex- pect it. Matthew Taylor figured it out, and so did Derek Morgan on Crim- inal Minds, towards the end. So. now it’s Shemar Moore’s turn. I’m a ro- mantic, and I believe in love. KW: “The Bounce Back” has a nice twist at the end. SM: What I love about this movie is that we didn’t try to reinvent the wheel but we did find an original way to tell a love story about falling in love, the heartache of being betrayed and still having the courage and faith to fall back in love, and from both the male and female perspec- tive. It illustrates that See MOORE on page 11 We honor the many accomplishments of African Americans. Conor O’Malley (Lewis MacDougall) befriends a giant tree monster (Liam Neeson) in ‘A Monster Calls’ By Kam Williams For The Skanner News C onor O’Malley (Lewis MacDou- gall) is understandably miser- able. First of all, the 12 year-old divorced mom (Felicity Jones) is terminally ill. Second, they’re both es- tranged from his father (Toby Kebbell) who has long since started another family over in America. Third, Conor is tired of being mis- treated by his cold-hearted grand- mother (Sigourney Weaver) who cares “ be a meaningful lesson to be learned from each of the parables. That is the point of departure of A Monster Calls, a bittersweet escapist fantasy directed by J.A. Bayona (The Impossible). The movie is based on the illustrated children’s novel of the same name by Patrick Ness who also adapted it to the big screen. Ness’ award-win- ning book was inspired by the late Siobhan Dowd, who passed away be- fore she could tackle the semi-autobi- ographical project herself. The film is less a feel-good flick than a picture about making the best of a bad sit- uation. For, the mon- ster’s stories paint a sobering picture of life that’s anything but rosy. However, they do ultimately en- able Conor to own up about his deepest fear, when it’s his turn to share. Given the mature themes and the dire plot developments, it’s hard to recom- mend “A Monster Calls” for vulnerable youngsters. Nevertheless, it is unique in its approach to preparing a tweener to processing an impending tragedy. A visually-enchanting, if fateful, fairy tale. The film is less a feel-good flick than a picture about making the best of a bad situation more about her prized possessions than his welfare. And finally, he’s rou- tinely teased at school by a bully (James Melville) about always being off in his own dream world. So, it’s no surprise when Conor starts being plagued by nightmares on a dai- ly basis. A few minutes after midnight, the giant yew tree (Liam Neeson) stand- ing in the graveyard outside his bed- room window turns into an intimidat- ing, anthropomorphic monster. Despite its imposing presence, the beast gradually gains the kid’s confi- dence, agreeing to tell a trio of insight- ful allegories on the condition that Conor reciprocate with one of his own. The idea, ostensibly, is that there will Very Good HHH Rated PG-13 for mature themes and scary images Running time: 108 minutes Distributor: Focus Features It is our primary goal as a labor union to better the lives of all people working in the building trades through advocacy, civil demonstration, and the long-held belief that workers deserve a “family wage” - fair pay for an honest day’s work. A family wage, and the benefits that go with it, not only strengthens families, but also allows our communities to become stronger, more cohesive, and more responsive to their citizens’ needs. Our family wage agenda reflects our commitment to people working in the building trades, and to workers everywhere. In this small way, we are doing our part to help people achieve the American Dream. This dream that workers can hold dear regardless of race, color, national origin, gender, creed, or religious beliefs. Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters Representing more than 5,000 construction workers in Oregon State. Do you want to know more about becoming a Union carpenter? Go to www.NWCarpenters.org PORTLAND OFFICE 1636 East Burnside, Portland, OR 97214 503.261.1862 | 800.974.9052 HEADQUARTERS 25120 Pacific Hwy S, Suite 200, Kent, WA 98032 253.954.8800 | 800.573.8333
