The Living Wake site http://www.thelivingwake.com
On June 8th, "The Living Wake" premiered at CineVegas and was covered by Robert Koehler of Variety.
Read the full review of 'The Living Wake' in Variety
MTV feeds Strong viral video to film
Film arm brings YouTube favorite to theaters
By TATIANA SIEGEL
MTV Films is bringing the YouTube phenomenon Million Dollar Strong to the bigscreen, with Todd Phillips aboard to produce.
Mike O'Connell and Ken Jeong, who star as the duo Million Dollar Strong in the satirical musicvid "What's It Gonna Be?" -- a favorite on YouTube and Will Ferrell's Funnyordie.com -- are set to star in the MTV comedy. O'Connell is penning the screenplay with Peter Kline.
Story revolves around the meteoric rise of a delusional rapper (O'Connell) and his Asian foreign exchange student friend (Jeong) as they take on the hip-hop world.
Clay Allen helmed the viral video, but no director is attached yet for the film version.
Management 360 is producing as well. Todd Phillips Co.'s Scott Budnick exec produces.
Will Russell-Shapiro and Scott Aversano are overseeing for MTV.
Phillips has several producing projects in development, including "Psycho Funky Chimp" at Paramount Pictures and "Man-Witch" at Warner Bros. Pictures.
O'Connell is a standup comedian who recently shot Fox pilot "The Right Now Show." Jeong, who most recently appeared as the doctor in "Knocked Up" and is filming Fox 2000's "All About Steve," is a real-life M.D.-turned-actor.
Read the full article at:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117972056.html
THE LIVING WAKE made its world premiere at the CINEVEGAS FILM FESTIVAL!
Click HERE for detailsTHE LIVING WAKE
review by Don R. Lewis
K. Roth Binew (O’Connell) is dying at the end of the day. His doctor has discovered an unnamed untreatable illness that will take the life of the eccentric Binew shortly after nightfall. Such is the plot for one of the funniest, most creative and beyond ridiculous (in a good way) films I’ve ever seen, “The Living Wake.†This is one of those reviews that’s nearly impossible to write because explaining the tone and humor of the film will come nowhere close to expressing what a refreshing blast this film is, but I shall saunter forward and do my best.
Depending on the way you look at him, Binew is either an eccentric or a lunatic. He chugs scotch from the back of his three wheeled bicycle rickshaw which is driven by his best friend, biographer and ingénue Mills (Eisenberg) who is taking his mentors impending death pretty hard. Eisenberg, who is apparently incapable of being in bad movies, is a great straight-man to O’Conell’s over-the-top Binew but their relationship allows you to care more about the both of them. They also play hilariously off one another. Or I should say, O’Connell plays hilariously and Eisenberg’s character sucks it up perfectly.
I don’t know who Mike O’Connell is, but without any hesitation I will say he’s a brilliant comedian. To even come up with two or three scenes featuring K. Roth Binew traveling with Mills by rickshaw would be hysterical and watchable. Yet he and writer Peter Kline have created a whole movie that really never misses a beat. I also felt director Sol Tryon gave the film a great, distinctive look. It sort of reminded me of Robert Altman’s “Popeye†with a hint of “Harold and Maude†thrown in for good measure.
As Binew’s final day unspools, he sets about doing some things he’s always wanted to do. He attempts to make amends with a crabby neighbor and professes his undying love for his childhood nanny, now a geriatric, yet attractive woman. Throughout the day Binew hands out invites to that evenings “living wake†and the film culminates with the big party to end all parties.
At times “The Living Wake†felt like a live action cartoon or some kind of fairy tale from a bizarre-o world and I loved it. I can totally see how some people will not know what the hell is going on, and that’s understandable. Binew speaks in a loud, presentational bellow and is prone to launching into song and dance. But if you allow yourself to fall into the world of “The Living Wake,†you’re really in for a treat. Funny, touching, insane, ridiculous and brilliant are just a few words I would use to describe “The Living Wake.†Films like this need to be seen so seek it out, you’ll be glad you did.
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Check out my site Mike O'Connell.NET
from Variety:
Mike O'Connell
10 Comics to Watch
by Natasha Emmons The Chicago native, 30, still prefers the comfort of bulge-hugging, polyester jumpsuits. But in the decade since he first battered audiences on the standup circuit with his frenzied music-based performances delivered in an indiscernible European accent, he has started wearing regular pants -- sometimes.
O'Connell's ever-evolving album, "Unemployable" -- which he custom burns for each paying customer -- offers everything from his classic heavy-metal educational songs for toddlers to his latest off-color efforts, such as "Asian Babies" and "Sexual Psychic."
As his record title suggests, O'Connell's work-world failures provide consistent fodder for his comedy. Fireable offenses have included adding gin to nonfat lattes, crying too much, math errors, inhaling whipped cream propellant, chortling at authority figures and masturbating into warm tortillas.
Buzz: While he might not be Starbucks material, O'Connell has plenty of focus when it comes to his entertainment career -- which has been sparked of late by his breakout musicvid on YouTube.com, "What's It Gonna Be?" released last April.
The hip-hop-fueled vid features O'Connell as a cheesy lounge lizard serenading perspective dates with lurid come-ons; L.A. circuit regular Dr. Ken kicks in with the chorus.
MTV has now asked the pair to take the concept to the next level. It also wants O'Connell to further develop his Internet "life coach" character, Conrad Besselheimer. Comedy Central, meanwhile, is onboard with a docu series O'Connell is developing with his journalist brother, Chris, titled "The Hall of Unknown Geniuses."
On the feature end, "The Living Wake," which marks O'Connell's first starring role (he had a bit part in Brian De Palma's "Black Dahlia" last year), will make the festival rounds this season.
O'Connell's inspirations include "intense actor dudes," such as David Niven, Richard Burton, Orson Welles and James Mason. "I always think it's very funny when someone speaks boldly," he says.
References: "He's very strong and determined in everything he approaches," says New York-based filmmaker Sol Tryon, who directed O'Connell in "The Living Wake." "He comes across as being very raw, but it's all very calculated. He's looking to make the audience think and listen to what he's saying and react, not just do some sort of gag to make them laugh."
Fallback plan: He doesn't have one. After going to great lengths to sabotage any other career possibilities, O'Connell says he has no intention of doing anything else. "That's why I've been (sleeping) on a couch for two years. I decided to burn my bridges before building them."