Brendan Fehr (Michael Guerin) News

Post by **Kath7** » Sun Aug 28, 2005 4:41 pm

A short interview with Brendan Fehr appeared in The Winnipeg Free Press on Saturday, August 27th, 2005, to promote the DVD of Childstar.

Talking Blockbusters with Brendan by Randall King

The photograph you see here of former Winnipegger Brendan Fehr is not from the movie Childstar, which was released on DVD this week.

Nope, this picture is from 2003 film Biker Boyz. There weren’t any pics of Fehr on Childstar’s press site, even if the Mennonite Brethren Collegiate alumnus has a substantial, even juicy part.

Fehr plays Chip Metzger, a former child star trapped in a downward spiral exacerbated by drugs, alcohol, casual sex and no career opportunities. When the 12-year-old child star of the title comes to Toronto to film a laughably execrable Hollywood blockbuster, he escapes from the temporary guardianship of a limo driver (Don McKellar) to hang with Chip, who introduces the kid to the world of cheap, superficial pleasures.

Along the way, Childstar lampoons the stupidity of Hollywood movies, and that could be a risky proposition for the New Westminster B.C.-born Fehr, who has kept one foot in Hollywood (in moves such as Biker Boyz, and the vampire thriller The Forsaken, and the cult TV series Roswell) and one in Canada (with movies including the Manitoba-lensed Edge of Madness and more recently Sugar, in which he plays a Toronto street hustler named Butch).

In a chat with the Free Press, Fehr says there is a big difference between making Canadian movies and American ones, but form the actor’s perspective, American films are the ones that are wanting.

Except, apparently, when it comes to publicity photos…

RK: You live in L.A. now, but you were raised in Winnipeg from 1990. Do you still have family in Winnipeg?

BF: My sister is there and most of my aunts and uncles. I’ve been back to visit my friends, play golf, get hammered…

RK: Your work in Childstar seems to be miles apart from some of the films you’ve done in Hollywood. It’s a pretty meaty role.

BF: It’s funny, most of the Canadian projects I’ve signed onto have offered me that, like Edge of Madness, they’ve offered me something I’ve never done. Sugar, which is the last movie I did in Toronto, offered me the kind of role Americans wouldn’t take a chance on (giving me). They need a big star, I guess, to take on these meaty roles.

RK: It’s the great dichotomy for a lot of Canadian actors: Hollywood offers greater success, but Canada offers better roles.

BF: Which is a shame. In (Childstar), I just had a lot of fun with it. Chip is definitely not me. I’m not the party-extrovert kind of guy. It was just a lot of fun to play, because L.A. is full of people like that, who cover up their insecurities with their vices with this over-exuberant, over-the-top personality of wanting to have fun and live life to its fullest and do everything non-stop…

RK: But with this undercurrent of desperation…

BF: Exactly. A little bit of pathos is there. I’ve seen it, which kind of helps.

RK: Is it inherently risky for a Canadian film to make fun of crappy, formulaic Hollywood films?

BF: No, I don’t think it’s dangerous. We’re definitely not saying the Canadian industry is superior to the American one because we all know it’s not. We’re making fun of the studios and the studio heads and how they view the American public. American audiences are beginning to feel cheated. They’re not as dumb as the studios are assuming they are. In fact, I think a lot of Americans would identify with this movie. Anyway, a lot of Canadian movies are crappy. They’re just not formulaic.

Post by **jbangelo** » Sun Aug 28, 2005 4:50 pm

Cool, thanks for posting that, Kath!

Lady_vixen · Post by **Lady_vixen** » Sun Aug 28, 2005 6:07 pm

jbanjelo wrote

Cool, thanks for posting that, Kath!

Ditto!! I hope my Blockbuster has it. They never have anything that has not been in every movie theater in America.

Surfgirl02 · Post by **Surfgirl02** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 5:47 pm

I’ve been back to visit my friends, play golf, get hammered…

I don't know why, but that line surprised me...I always thought Brendan was edge, I didn't think he drank. Although I could be just confused with the Anti-Drug campaign. For some reason I thought he said he didn't drink either. Eh, whatever.

Post by **Kath7** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 9:16 pm

Surfgirl02 wrote:
I’ve been back to visit my friends, play golf, get hammered…
I don't know why, but that line surprised me...I always thought Brendan was edge, I didn't think he drank. Although I could be just confused with the Anti-Drug campaign. For some reason I thought he said he didn't drink either. Eh, whatever.

He definately USED to say that. He's a Mennonite, and they're strictly anti-alcohol, but non-hardcore Mennonites do drink on occasion.

Lady_vixen · Post by **Lady_vixen** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 9:32 pm

Ok, I feel like a dork but what is a Mennonite?

Peachykin · Post by **Peachykin** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 10:30 pm

I've seen quite a few pics of Brendan at different functions with a beer in hand, most recently at the Zeke Lerner Bowlathon. I think he said the get hammered thing as tongue in cheek comment.

Surfgirl02 · Post by **Surfgirl02** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 11:25 pm

Peachykin wrote:I've seen quite a few pics of Brendan at different functions with a beer in hand, most recently at the Zeke Lerner Bowlathon. I think he said the get hammered thing as tongue in cheek comment.

lol...yeah, I got that...just wasn't sure if I was confusing him with someone else.

LovinGuerin2Much · Post by **LovinGuerin2Much** » Sat Sep 03, 2005 10:14 am

Lady Vixen asked what mennoite is and I looked it up.. the defintion didnt help me that much lol but here ya go.

Main Entry: Men·no·nite
Pronunciation: 'me-n&-"nIt
Function: noun
Etymology: German Mennonit, from Menno Simons
Date: 1565
: a member of any of various Protestant groups derived from the Anabaptist movement in Holland and characterized by congregational autonomy and rejection of military service

So I guess they dont drink or something..feel free to correct me if I'm wrong people. lol

Lady_vixen · Post by **Lady_vixen** » Sat Sep 03, 2005 4:43 pm

Thanks Fran. I had looked it up too but was still a little confused.