Interview: Phil Lloyd - Review with Myles
Barlow
By Sean Lynch and Will Barker
Interview
with Actor and Writer Phil Lloyd
Star of "Review with Myles Barlow"
Television
is an unforgiving medium.
Like a tapeworm feasting on a combination of flesh, blood and waste
matter it sinks its pearly whites of
destruction into the cathode ray tubes of hate, beaming its bedeviled messages to an unwary and often uncaring
audience.
One man who has survived this cesspit of
parasitical terror is Phil Lloyd, the man behind ABC2's cult hit Review with Myles Barlow.
Sean Lynch and Will Barker caught up with one half of the
creative force behind the TV show on the eve of it's inaugural DVD
launch.
WB: What influenced you to make this TV show, and where did the 'Myles Barlow' character come from?
Um...
SL: Or do you just know a lot of wankers...
[Laughs] We do know a lot of wankers.
I don't think anything influenced us to come up with it, we just thought of the idea.
We
were at a party in my house late one night and took to rating a stain
on a bedsheet - and gave it a rating out of five stars.
After that we
thought "Wouldn't it be funny if there was this guy that just starts
rating real life?", giving critical evaluations to anything - not just
the arts.
And it kind of just snowballed from there.
SL:
It's a big thing being, essentially, the first original piece of
programming commissioned on ABC2 - what's the process in trying to get a
show up on a relatively new station?
We were kind of lucky in that way, that ABC2 would turn out to be a very good forum for a show like Review.
When we made the initial pilots we invited people along to a screening and someone from the ABC came.
It
wasn't like we were pitching to ABC2 specifically: someone from the ABC
came along and felt the material might be suited to ABC2 given that
it's a bit more experimental, and a bit more edgy in it's programming.
So it just seemed like a good fit, and obviously we were very happy with that.
As a result of that, we had a lot of creative freedom and were able to fully go for the concept we were trying to do.
SL: So the pilot was made prior to the ABC picking the show up?
We just made that by ourselves with our own money. We made four 5 Minute Episodes, basically single reviews.
We
always thought it would only be a five minute [show], like a short form
series, and we were going to use that to try and sell it or use as a
calling card to show people what we could do - and then perhaps do a
different concept.
SL: There
seems to be a bit of tension between Myles and [At The Movies'] David Stratton. Is it
awkward now walking through the ABC halls, or has Stratton always
happily obliged to be your comedic punching bag?
Yeah,
I guess we thought it would be amusing. I think Myles is the kind of
guy that looks down on other critics, because he thinks they aren't the
real deal because he will do anything. We just thought it might be an
amusing thing if him and David had a healthy rivalry.
We approached David, hoping he'd be up for it, and he was. So that's where it took off.
But I think that's a big part of Myles character: his healthy dislike for David.
WB: Myles often reviews emotions, is there an emotion he would never attempt to review?
Probably
not. I'd say anything is up for grabs with Myles. There's possibly
certain topics [he might avoid]. I really don't know - because Myles is
so dedicated to his audience and bringing them whatever they need to
know.
Whether it would appear on television is probably another matter...
SL:
A big part of the show is the endless array of wordy analogies and
metaphors at the end of every review. Are you ever worried you are
going to run out of... well... words?
[Laughs] No...
Myles
is one of those people who prides himself on coming up with what he thinks are
incredibly eloquent notions that, to us, are actually pretty ludicrous.
SL: Have you got a particular favourite?
The
more ridiculous the funnier I reckon. I can't remember what review it
was, but he did liken something to a "Cambodian Skyscraper reaching for
the sky, which doesn't have the proper foundations because of industry
disputes".
It just sort of goes off on this weird tangent.
SL:
With the writing of the show, is it something you just sit down and do,
or is it a collaborative effort where people just throw in random ideas?
It's
myself and my writing partner, Trent [O'Donnell], who is also the director. So we
pretty much wrote it together, and obviously we get feedback from the
ABC and the producer. SL: So you've really been given a chance to do whatever the hell you want...
More or less. I think that's part of what Review is.
It "goes there", it is quite edgy and goes right to the line really.
And they [the ABC] didn't want to take that away - because I think that's part of
the show's appeal.
We thought they would try and pull us back. And they said "No, don't pull it back, just try not to push it any further".
WB:
When you're filming the reviews (the 'Prostitution Review' comes to
mind) do any of these get you in hot water, or have you ever been in
any scary situations? Because it's shot in a lot of back alley's...
it's very gritty sometimes.
Yeah I think we wanted to
give it that "Documentary" feel, and we wanted to make it feel
completely different from the studio component - which is obviously
Myles base. It's meant to look a lot more slick [in the studio], making the stuff out
in the field much grittier and guerrilla-style.
Shooting at
Schoolies was a bit hard. Because there's just teenagers everywhere,
and a lot of them are drunk. So as soon as they'd see we had ABC passes
they would come running up and want to be in it and be put on camera.
SL: But you still got to have a lot of underage sex - so it wasn't all bad...
[Laughs] Exactly!
SL: The Chaser had a successful run on the live circuit, is a live tour something that might work for Review?
I think Myles would certainly be up for that.
He
really sees himself as a warrior of the people. So I think he would
definitely be up for going from town to town and putting on a show. A
bit of a "Snake Oil" salesman, you might say...
SL: Do you come from a live comedy background, or you're more of a sit-at-home writer?
I've done stand up once [Laughs].
But I've done a lot of theatre, I did theatre at Uni - but mainly me
and Trent have made a lot of short films. But I've always loved comedy,
and I've always wanted to do television comedy.
WB: What's next for Myles Barlow? Should we expect another season, or perhaps spin-off projects?
At
the moment, we would like to do a second series. We are in talks with
the ABC at the moment. Nothing set in stone as yet, but stay tuned - as
we would definitely like to do a second season.
WB: ... With new demands of course - like a new wardrobe...
[Laughs] Yeah, you know, a chauffeur - a couple of Mercedes, etc. [Laughs]
SL: Will we ever see a change to the Myles Barlow hair-do?
I doubt it...
He is like a superhero. I think his wardrobe is just full of blue blazers and fawn slacks.
SL: Kudos on the use of the word "slacks", I haven't heard that in quite some time.
Sorry, a bit of Myles speak creeping in there... [Laughs]
WB: Myles is skilled in taxidermy? Has he always enjoyed mounting dead animals?
[Laughs] He has, he grew up in Launceston. [Laughs]
As
we all know, Tasmania is the world capital of roadkill. And as a small
boy, he and his dad would go and pick up these carcasses of animals off
the roadway...
SL: If we
could just talk to Myles himself just for a final word - can he finish
this sentence for us: "It's better to have loved and lost than to..."
... Than to have paid for sex with a prostitute, only to discover you don't have any money on you to pay for the experience.
"REVIEW WITH MYLES BARLOW : SERIES ONE" IS OUT NOW ON DVD.
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