Interview with Francis

Francis Greenslade with David M Green

David M Green, long-time Shaun fan and now a writer in the Mad As Hell team, got to talk to Francis Greenslade last year. You can listen to the whole thing on David’s website or iTunes, but here’s some things we learnt (in relation to Shaun):

Francis first saw Shaun on stage, doing a sketch called “The Incredible Low-Fat Ice Coffee Carton”. Both being members of the Adelaide University Footlights, they would often arrive nearly an hour and a half before rehearsal, just waiting for the doors to open.

It was Shaun and Gary who got Francis onto TV, specifically Full Frontal, and did so by getting him in as an extra for a sketch they had written.

He comments that The Micallef Program was “a joy” to work on, and says there hasn’t been a more seemless and hysterical sketch comedy show in Australia. Meat Boy is his favourite sketch. Everything was written before filming began, allowing plenty of time for the cast to prepare (especially when compared to Mad As Hell).

They also talk about one of the sketches filmed for Season 2 of Mad As Hell, which never went to our screens, called ‘Blather’. The question remains if this, and other unaired material for the show, will ever be released.

Fresh Blood

Last year, the ABC launched “Fresh Blood” – a call out for new comedy talent to submit their videos and proposals for a chance to receive funding for their video sketch or comedic performance project, so it can be screened on ABC iView and other online channels.

The winners were announced recently, but when the competition was first announced, the ABC used a ‘Game of Thrones’ parody to promote it – starring the Chaser team and Shaun. If you missed it, here it is:

Shaun Running That Town

There’s a new iOS app by the Australian Bureau of Statistics called “Run That Town”. The premise is instead of just saying “I could run this town better” – you can actually try it. Using real census data, you can try running any town in Australia to determine if you actually can make a difference.

So why mention it? Because it’s narrated by Shaun of course! (see here) It’s not the first time he’s done work for the ABS, with the pre-census spotlight website. (still online too!)

Find out more about the game at runthattown.abs.gov.au.

It’s looks quite slick, but as I don’t have any iDevices, I haven’t played it. Please post comments if you have!

Shaun’s Mad Media Tour

In the lead up to the premiere of Mad As Hell last week, Shaun popped up on a number of Television and Radio shows to spruke his wares:

On Tom and Alex (starts at 40:40), Shaun revealed that his exposure to Barbra Streisand the last time he was on the show was what inspired him to incorporate it in TAYG. He also talked with listeners about what makes them mad.

He also appeared on ABC News Breakfast,  and spoke to Ian Henschke on ABC Adelaide.

If I missed any, drop a comment!