by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
This is just a stray observation.
Tag: Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Life Is About To Change Dramatically
by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
The thing about Phoebe Waller-Bridge is how down to earth and honest she is. One thing I’ve noticed about her, however, is she doesn’t have the UCB chops that a lot of American TV stars have. She’s more of a writer and traditional actor.
You notice it the most when she’s on a show like Late Night and Seth Meyers obviously really wants to do a form of improv with her and she can seem a bit slow on the take. She’s naturally funny, of course, but it comes out more naturally for her in the context of sitting in front of a laptop and thinking about it.
Having said all that, I have a hunch that she’s going to get sucked into the Hollywood community in a pretty big way. She’s recently divorced and there are plenty of single — and powerful — Hollywood leading men who love to have her by their side as they walked down the red carpet. The one guy who might find her a catch would be Bill Murray. He’s a bit old for her, but they would be an instant Hollywood power couple. (I’m too lazy to look at Wikipedia to see if he’s single.) I mean, the one guy I could see falling hard for Ms. Waller-Bridge is Jon Hamm. Hamm is a very funny guy and it seems like he would enjoy having Ms. Waller-Bridge a comic foil in both public and private endeavors.
I could see Hollywood producers have a bit of a struggle figuring out what to do with her because she’s not a traditional Hollywood beauty, but I can think of plenty of roles she would be perfect for. She’s got a unique comic voice that will serve her — and the audience — well for potentially decades to come.
One other thing is now that she’s hosted SNL, she’s a part of the SNL hivemind and there’s a good chance she might linger in its orbit as events warrant. She’s probably met a lot of the big wigs of SNL during the course of preparing for the show and those contacts will be beneficial to everyone involved going forward.
Anyway, what do I know. No one listens to me.
My Phoebe Waller-Bridge Dream Movie Vehicle
by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
I haven’t seen the most recent movies in the Pirates of the Caribbean series, so I don’t know what’s canon. But this a rough sketch out of a movie I think would be great for Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s career.
Act I
We open to a young Luke Skywalker-type kid, only in Colonial America. The shot heard ’round the world has just happened. Revolution is in the air. He lives a boring, hum-drum life, but dreams of sailing the seas fighting pirates. He lives near the capital of Virginia, Williamsburg.
Maybe establish he has some sort of young lady in his life. (Eva Victor?)
Inciting Incident
Things change when he finds himself running into what appears to be a man who wants to rob him. The movie’s story begins when we learn it’s not a man, but a woman — Capt. Jane Sparrow.
Capt. Jane Sparrow quickly realizes she’s getting sucked into the revolution in a way that might not be very profitable. But at the end of the first act, she makes her decision — she’s going to save the young man and let the chips fall where they may.
Act 2
We have our adventure. Major figures of the American Revolution breeze through the story and meet Capt. Jane Sparrow. She finally agrees to be a “privateer” for the nascent American nation.
Midpoint — it appears as though Capt. Jane Sparrow has abandoned the cause and our Hero is forced to race around without her help. At about this point Capt. Jane Sparrow bangs our hero, rocking his world and setting up a love triangle between she and the Hero’s girl.
At the end of the second act, it looks as though he’s headed for the gallows. At the last moment, Capt. Jane Sparrow pops up and saves the day.
Act 3
This is where we really lean into the audience’s natural support for not only Capt. Jane Sparrow but the Revolutionary War. All kinds of swashbuckling happens.
Capt. Jane Sparrow kisses our hero after a final victory and hops on her ship, never to be seen again?
The End
Potential Vehicles For Phoebe Waller-Bridge
By Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
Here are some movie ideas for Phoebe Waller-Bridge going forward.
-Time Bandits reboot
-Pirates of the Caribbean: Anchor a movie as Capt. Jack Sparrow’s daughter.
-“Manic Pixie Dream Girl” — Waller-Bridge skewers this reliable Hollywood trope
-Waller-Bridge and Bill Hader romcom
-An “Annie Hall” type movie shown from the female perspective
-“Yes, Mrs. President” — plays the first female president of the Republic of England
-“Special Relationship” American guy falls for British girl, hilarity ensues.
-Police Woman reboot
–Susan Calvin — plays robot psychologist based on Isaac Asimov books
–Cannonball Run reboot
–Road To…. series reboot with Ilana Glazer
– Jabber Jaw reboot
Something About Nikki Glaser Is Endearing
by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
I’ve seen comic Nikki Glaser on Conan’s show several times recently and found her a delight. A lot of female comics seem to be trying way too hard. But something about her brashness is refreshing.
While I definitely think women are funny, they often have a very different type of humor than male comics. A prime example of this is Eva Victor. Victor is rather gentle in her very funny humor. It might benefit her to get some advice from Tina Fey as to how to be a bit more biting. It’s often tough for women to talk about the same things as men in the same way. I think that’s what set Glaser apart — she’s pretty much a male comic who happens to be female.
In a sense, the person I would compare her to is Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Waller-Bridge seems like she would do well doing stand-up should the mood strike her. Both women can cut you with a choice word.
What’s interest is Amy Schumer is Glaser’s contemporary and yet I just don’t find her very funny. Both women inhabit the approximately the same mindspace. I just like Glaser as a person more. Glaser seems like she would be fun to hang out with, while Schumer can come off as rather grating.
Anyway. What do I know.
The Striking Difference in Reaction Between American & British Press To Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s ‘Fleabag’
by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
I have something of a celebrity crush on Phoebe Waller-Bridge. She did one of those goofy gimmick interviews and in it she said the best advice she ever got was to “Always to always smell nice, you don’t know who you’re going to hug.”
Well, I’ve watched a lot of interviews with Ms. Waller-Bridge about her hit show “Fleabag,” and it seems as though some more advice would be: British press is going to treat your show different than American press. One thing that keeps coming up in British interviews about the show is how “feminist” it is. I don’t recall an American interviewer mentioning it once.
I think that it is a testament to where the two cultures are right now. As I understand it, the UK never really went through the late 70s women’s movement like America did. There’s a reason why Page 3 girls are continue to linger in British culture. So the American audience for Fleabag doesn’t even think about if the show is meant to be “feminist” or not. They just think it’s funny.
I know I, at least, did not even think about the “feminist” aspect of the show until I kept seeing poor Ms. Waller-Bridge asked about it again and again and again by her British compatriots.
Anyway, I bet she does smell great.
V-Log: Weighing Ilana Glazer & Phoebe Waller-Bridge As The Next Bond Girl
by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
Just some idle rambling.
Ilana Glazer Or Phoebe Waller-Bridge Should Be The Next Bond Girl
by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
I’m a big fan of the James Bond franchise. I always liked the opening scene of Moonraker when the space shuttle is stolen. I really like what they’ve done with Daniel Craig. He’s very modern, very of the moment, and has brought a new level of creative seriousness to what had been a rather campy series.
I’ve written some before about how I think Ilana Glazer would be a perfect Bond girl. She’s funny, smart and audiences would laugh and laugh as a strong, independent woman such as she inevitably fell for James Bond. I saw Solo today and it occurred to me that someone who might fit the part a little bit better is Phoebe Waller-Bridge. She has the same spunk as Glazer, but she’s British and the interplay between she and Craig would be sexy and funny. Both women are hot in an unconventional way that would bring a little bit of spark to the movie.
Shrug. No one listens to me anyway. But when they do, cool stuff happens.
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