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"Reno 911!" co-stars-writers-executive producers
Robert Ben Garant, Thomas Lennon, and Kerri Kenney-Silver
first met in college, where they created a comedy troupe
they called The State. According to Garant, who also directs
RENO 911!: MIAMI, it was not an obvious match.
"Kerri was very Westport, Tom wore suits, cowboy
boots and an eye patch - and I was scared of both of them.
Somehow, we all ended up in a comedy troupe, and for some
reason we all took it really seriously."
In the mid-1990s, the trio created a popular sketch comedy
series, named for their troupe, on MTV. Following that
came the Comedy Central series "Viva Variety,"
which ran for three seasons.
After wrapping up work on "Viva Variety," development
began on what would become "Reno 911!" Initially,
Lennon and Garant had envisioned the series as another
sketch comedy. But the first part of the process in bringing
a series to air - a network table reading - didn't go
well. "We were canceled at the table read,"
Lennon recalls. "I'm not sure that's happened before."
Picking up the pieces, Garant, Lennon and Kenney-Silver
came up with another idea: a parody of the popular reality
series "Cops." "'Cops' was a huge hit for
the network, so we thought it would be a fun thing to
parody," says Kenney-Silver. The result was a hilarious
take on the traditional cop drama, with soap opera-like
twists and turns.
Garant, Lennon and Kenney-Silver decided to set the show
in Reno, which Lennon describes as a "small town
with a big-city vibe."
"It's the place where dreams fade and hope diminishes,"
he continues. "It has a sense of grayness and a sense
of desperation. It's Vegas' ugly step-child." But
Kenney-Silver insists that the locale was chosen for more
practical considerations. "The word 'Reno' is nice
and short and it looks good on a hat. And it's easy to
read for people who can't read well."
It was an inspired idea, and Lennon, Garant and Silver
went to work, shooting and editing the pilot in only a
few weeks.
It then sat on the shelf for two years.
Finally, in 2003, Comedy Central picked up the series,
which will soon begin production on its fifth season -
and which, of course, has now been turned into a full-length
motion picture produced by not one, but two major studios.
RENO 911!: MIAMI, with its confluence of dueling cities
and weird punctuation, may be the stupidest title in movie
history. Not surprisingly, it wasn't the product of market
research, filmmaker/corporate brainstorming - or any kind
of creative thinking. Robert Ben Garant explains: "I'm
not positive, but I think I came up with the title. I
thought it was the dumbest title I've ever heard. In fact,
we all thought it was so dumb, that we had to get it up
on a billboard.
"One day," Lennon recalls, "Ben said, 'We
should call the movie 'RENO 911!: MIAMI,' and we [the
rest of the cast] said, 'Ha, ha, funny.' And that's the
most we ever talked about it."
"We almost used 'Reno 911!: Las Vegas', but that
was overthinking it a bit," Garant adds.
A critical piece of punctuation - an exclamation point
- has followed the word "Reno" in the title
since the show's inception, and Garant, Lennon and Kenney-Silver
made sure it took its rightful place in the expanded film
moniker. "That punctuation also really looks good
on a hat," Garant points out, reinforcing the filmmakers'
obsession with head coverings.
Looking beyond the title's stupidity factor, the choice
of Miami as the film's principal location serves an important
creative purpose. In Miami, the Reno officers are completely
out of their element. This "fish-out-of-water"
theme ramps up the comic opportunities while providing
a narrative through-line not present in the series. "In
Reno, they're kind of cool; they're rock stars,"
says Kenney-Silver. "But in Miami, they look really
small; they're totally out of place."
"The Reno officers are overwhelmed by Miami's wholesomeness,"
adds Carlos Alazraqui, who portrays Officer James Garcia.
"They're surrounded by healthy-looking people, an
ocean, clean air - none of which are found in Reno."
The new locale certainly sets RENO 911!: MIAMI apart from
the series, as does the movie's scale, production values,
and un-pixilated nudity. ("We have a lot of naked
boobs in the film," says Garant. "A lot of boobs.")
"The film is 'Reno:911!' on steroids!" exclaims
Alazraqui. "It has more beautiful women, more physical
stuff, nicer uniforms, bigger guest stars, better trailers,
and more discos.
But the filmmakers insist that the "bigger/better/more!"
(note the exclamation point) aspects of the production
are secondary to their intention of sticking close to
what audiences love about the show. Says Kenney-Silver:
"We wanted the movie to be just like the series because
we figured people love these characters as they are. We
didn't want to do a 'movie version' of them."
Equally important, says Lennon, is the fact that a familiarity
with the series isn't necessary to enjoy the movie. "Anything
that needs to be established about these characters can
be figured out within a minute into the film. I mean,
look at my character, Lt. Dangle: He wears a ridiculous
uniform, he has highlights in his hair, and he's armed.
We go from there."
No cast member was more surprised to see the series become
a major motion picture, than was Niecy Nash, who portrays
Officer Raineesha Williams. "The show was popular,
but in an underground kind of way," she says. "We
were having a great time doing the series; it didn't feel
like work. And then came the idea of a studio feature
based on the show. My reaction was, 'What????'
Nash, like all the actors, came to relish the opportunity
of bringing "Reno: 911!" to the big-screen.
And she, like the others, had created her character from
scratch at the series' onset. "Raineesha Williams
is an amalgamation of many women I've known," she
explains. "You know - the ones who wear too much
makeup, and who have extra attitude on the side. She's
no-nonsense, in your face, a little bit spicy, and supremely
well-coiffed. And in the movie, you get to see a lot more
of Williams, courtesy of a 'booty' prosthetic." (More
later on that very "special effect.")
Wendi McLendon-Covey, who plays Deputy Clementine Johnson,
a former showgirl, magician's assistant, girl-about-town
and party-lady, calls the Reno gang "the worst hall
monitors or crossing-guards in the world." Moreover,
her character is, in Miami, even more out-there with her
unique brand of sexiness. But there's more to Clemmie
than a big pair…of guns. "In a way, Clemmie is like
everybody's weird aunt, who just breezes into town and
breezes back out," says McLendon-Covey.
Another over-sexed member of the Reno law-enforcement
team is Deputy S. Jones, played by Cedric Yarbrough. "Jones
is there for one thing - and one thing only - and it rhymes
with 'spoon-tang," says the poetic-waxing actor.
Mary Birdsong, who portrays Deputy Cherisa Kimball, is
the newest member of the "Reno 911!" troupe,
having joined the cast for the series' third season. She
says her work on the show provided, among other things,
great groundwork for the movie. "I've been rehearsing
for this film for two seasons," she notes. "That's
a rare opportunity for preparation." And how did
she find the character? "I found Kimball in a ditch
with five dollars in her pocket and a lot of dreams,"
she explains.
Before shooting began on RENO 911!: MIAMI, the filmmakers
met with fourteen Miami law enforcement agencies - including
Miami Police, Miami-Dade Fire and Rescue, the Coast Guard,
Harbor Patrol, Homeland Security and the Environmental
Protection Agency - to obtain the necessary permits and
access to various locations.
"These guys were all in one room at the same time
when we met with them," Garant remembers. "We
had to pitch our jokes to about twenty heavily-armed men.
Luckily most of them were fans."
Director Garant and the rest of the team were delighted
to shoot the film in high-definition video - an upgrade
from the series' standard definition video. But with HD
came significant challenges, including dealing with Lt.
Dangle's facial hair. For the show, the usually-clean-shaven
Lennon uses a stick-on mustache, but for the movie, it's
all him. Putting aside the aesthetic realism of using
his own whiskers, Lennon notes their cost-savings benefits.
"We saved a fortune in not using fake mustaches,"
he notes. "Those things cost $100 apiece." (For
the record, Garant says he's always used his own mustache.)
The film's most impressive effect - surpassing even a
30-foot-long beached whale made of wood and neoprene -
is Raineesha Williams' enormous posterior, a specially
created prosthetic that impressed all those who experienced
its glory. "It was the most expensive prop, by far,"
says Garant. "When Niecy modeled it for us, a group
of people who were just standing around started poking
it and turning it in the light. They had no idea it was
a fake butt. And when we told one of our real-life police
escorts the booty was fake, it was like telling a child
there was no Santa Claus. It just crushed him. We all
felt very proud of that butt."
Adds Thomas Lennon: "If even a snapshot of that booty
were to make it into a prison, there would be a situation
that would…well, let's just say you'd have to go way beyond
lockdown."
During beach patrol duty with the booty-licious Williams,
Kerri Kenney-Silver's Trudy Wiegel sports some all-too-revealing
"granny" panties and a scoliosis bra. "Trudy
has some posture problems, and that's where her special
bra comes in," says Kenney-Silver. "And the
granny panties protect her from other people's body parts
that could have touched the suit before she purchased
it."
Then there's Lennon's Dangle, who lets it all hang out
with his short-shorts, which he's worn since the show's
pilot episode. In high-definition, it was difficult to
keep Dangle from, well, dangling. "The image is so
clear," says Lennon, that I might as well not be
wearing any pants. Every minute I'm in the shorts, it's
a struggle. The shorts seemed like a funny idea in 1999,
but now I'm stuck with them."
Lennon insists that, possibly due to the shorts, Dangle
is the most popular character with the legions of "Reno
911!" fans. "You can authenticate that anywhere,
including the Internet," he insists. "The rest
of the cast is very talented, popular and
wonderful. I won't rank them in order of popularity, but
I definitely am in the number-one position. Really - it's
on the Internet."
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| Cast: |
CARLOS ALAZRAQUI (Deputy James Garcia) has worked
hard to establish himself as one of the funniest men on
television today. He is a voice we hear almost on a daily
basis; we just don't know it. And now, we get to meet
the man behind the voice.
Currently, Carlos can be seen playing Officer James Garcia,
a cop who takes his job a bit too seriously on the Comedy
Central series "Reno 911!", soon to begin production
on its fifth season.
Carlos is probably best known as the voice of a very famous
Chihuahua, popularizing the slogan "Yo quiero Taco
Bell." In addition, he can be heard as Monroe in
"The Life & Times of Juniper Lee and Laszlo"
and on "Camp Laszlo," both airing on the Cartoon
Network.
Carlos can also be heard as Mr. Crocker, the schoolteacher
on the Nickelodeon hit series "Fairly Odd Parents,"
Rocko on "Rocko's Modern Life," as Rikochet
on "Mucha Lucha," and in the PBS series "Handy
Mandy, Maya, and Miguel." Carlos has made guest appearances
on "Even Stevens," "Lizzie McGuire,"
"The Brothers Garcia," "Men Behaving Badly,"
and "That 70s Show." He also starred in his
own half-hour comedy special for Comedy Central.
Carlos played one of the wacky penguins alongside Robin
Williams in George Miller's animated hit film "Happy
Feet" (Warner Bros.). Carlos's past film credits
include "Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius," "Osmosis
Jones" and "A Bug's Life."
Carlos performs his stand-up comedy routine on a regular
basis. He also is in development on several of his own
series. His one-man show, "I Want to be Liked and
Make Money," prompted Paula Warfield from Backstage
West-Drama-log to write, "Carlos is anyone or anything
he wants to be. He belongs to that rare category of chameleon-esque
actors - an extraordinary talent."
In his free time, Carlos is an avid tennis player and
skydiver - he has participated in over 525 jumps.
MARY BIRDSONG (Deputy Cherisa Kimball) was named
one of the "Top 10 Talents on the Rise" by The
Hollywood Reporter. Birdsong joined the cast of Comedy
Central's hit series "Reno 911!" for the third
season. Birdsong has a lot more in common with the "Reno"
cast than her deputy's badge, having graduated from the
same college as Kerri Kenney-Silver, Thomas Lennon and
Robert Ben Garant. She earned her BFA in Acting from NYU's
Tisch School of the Arts and was also awarded the Stella
Adler Award for Outstanding Achievement in Acting. Previously,
she appeared on Comedy Central as a regular on the faux-debate
show "Crossballs," in Denis Leary's "Contest
Searchlight" and on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
Hardcore fans of the channel may even recall her appearing
in a sketch of the series "Viva Variety," created
by Garant, Kenney-Silver, and Lennon.
Other television credits include a co-starring role in
the CBS sitcom "Welcome to New York," starring
Christine Baranski, as well as guest spots on MTV's "Apt.
2F," NBC's "Ed" and "Late Night with
Conan O'Brien," ABC's "Talk to Me," and
E! television's "The Howard Stern Show."
More recently Mary starred in the Broadway play "Martin
Short: Fame Becomes Me" at the Bernard B. Jacobs
Theater. It is a one man show with a cast of six. Mary
played many roles including Joan Rivers, Judy Garland,
and Jodie Foster. Other stage credits include the role
of Vixen Fox in Elaine May's off-Broadway comedy "Adult
Entertainment" with Danny Aiello and Jeannie Berlin
at the Variety Arts Theatre in New York City.
She also wrote and starred as Judy Garland in the one-woman
off-Broadway show "Judy Speaks" at the Ars Nova
Theatre in New York City, where she debuted her new one-woman
rock musical "The 99 Cent Whore."
Film credits include "Pizza," "Le Chase,"
"Above Freezing," "Let it Snow," "In
God's Hands" and "The Last Request." In
addition, she has done voiceover work on numerous commercials.
ROBERT BEN GARANT (Deputy Travis Junior, Co-Screenwriter,
Director, Executive Producer) was born in Cookeville,
Tennessee. He spent the early nineties appearing in off-off
Broadway theaters (bars) in New York City with the comedy
group The State. The State then had a three season run
on MTV, which led to a forty-four minute run on CBS. He
then created, wrote, produced, and occasionally appeared
in three seasons of "Viva Variety" on Comedy
Central.
Since relocating to Los Angeles, he and his partner, Thomas
Lennon, have written feature films for Disney, Spyglass,
Imagine, Twentieth Century Fox (including the recent box-office
hit "Night at the Museum"), Warner Bros., Columbia,
Paramount, New Line, Dimension, and Universal Pictures.
He recently directed his second feature film, "Balls
of Fury," for Universal and Spyglass.
In his spare time, he writes, executive produces and stars
in "Reno 911!" - Comedy Central's second or
third biggest show. He lives in Glendale.
KERRI KENNEY-SILVER (Deputy Trudy Wiegel, Co-Screenwriter,
Executive Producer) was the only female member of the
sketch comedy group, "The State," on MTV. She
then starred in "Viva Variety" on Comedy Central.
Kerri starred in "The Ellen Show" and "Still
Standing" on CBS, and has appeared in numerous guest
star roles. She has been the voice of many cartoon characters
in such productions as Disney's "Buzz Lightyear,"
"Kim Possible" and "The Weekenders,"
among others. Currently she stars in "Reno 911!,"
which she created with Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant.
Kerri is the lead singer and bass player in the all-female
rock group Cake Like, which has had much success touring
Europe and America, and has put out three albums.
THOMAS LENNON (Lieutenant Jim Dangle, Co-Screenwriter,
Executive Producer), originally from Chicago, began his
career as a graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts'
experimental theater wing. It was here that he co-founded
the sketch comedy troupe "The State." The group
went on to critical success with their self-titled hit
series on MTV, where he was one of its stars, producers
and writers. "The State" was nominated for a
1995 CableACE award for Best Comedy Series and ran for
three seasons.
Lennon then created, produced and starred in Comedy Central's
"Viva Variety," which was an instant critical
smash for the new network. The show garnered a CableACE
nomination for Best Comedy Series in 1997 and enjoyed
three successful seasons. Lennon has appeared in the films
"Memento," "Le Divorce," "How
to Lose a Guy in 10 Days," "A Guy Thing,"
"The Godfather of Green Bay," "Conversations
with Other Women" and "Heights."
Lennon and Robert Ben Garant have written the scripts
for seven films, including "The Pacifier," "Night
at the Museum," and "Balls of Fury."
Lennon currently resides in Los Angeles and is the co-creator,
executive producer, and star of Comedy Central's hit series
"Reno 911!"
WENDI McLENDON-COVEY(Deputy Clementine Johnson),
in between bubble baths, has been known to do a little
bit of acting. In addition to her role as Deputy Clementine
Johnson on "Reno 911!," she is also a main company
member of the famed Groundling Theater in Los Angeles.
You can find her on E! Television and on VH1, providing
smarmy commentary about pop culture. She has also appeared
in the film "Bewitched" starring Will Ferrell
and Nicole Kidman. Wendi was the co-writer of the critically
acclaimed sketch shows "We're Blond and Pretty…What
Happened to You?" and "Girls Who Say Yes."
She lives in Long Beach with Greg Covey (the world's only
perfect man) and two cats.
NIECY NASH (Deputy Raineesha Williams) was sitting
in her grandmother's living room at the tender age of
five when she first witnessed an elegant black actress
grace her television screen. From the sight of the luminous
Lola Falana, Niecy decided, "That's what I'm gonna
do - be fabulous and be on TV!" And that is what
she has successfully done.
Niecy stars as Deputy Raineesha Williams in the Comedy
Central hit series "Reno 911!" She also hosts
Style Network's home-makeover series "Clean House,"
which premiered in September 2003.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Niecy spent an influential
period during her childhood with her grandmother and mother
in St. Louis. Niecy attended Cal State Dominguez Hills,
where she majored in theater and graduated with a BA,
a husband, a baby, and a mission. Soon after graduation,
Niecy made a fateful decision to call a casting director
she had auditioned for months earlier. When he answered
the phone she said, "I don't know if you remember
me. I'm Niecy Nash, I'm broke, I've got a baby, and I
need a job." He told her to come down to his office
and audition for his new movie and Niecy landed her first
paid gig in a scene opposite Whoopi Goldberg in "Boys
on the Side."
Niecy's film credits include "Guess Who," starring
Bernie Mac and Ashton Kutcher, and the comedy "Hairshow,"
starring Mo'Nique. Niecy also co-starred in Robert Altman's
"Cookie's Fortune," and in "The Bachelor,"
"Em & Me," and "Malibu's Most Wanted."
Her television credits include a recurring role on "The
Bernie Mac Show," in which Niecy portrayed Bernie's
sister, Auntie Benita. She also had recurring roles on
"That's Life," "Popular" and "City
of Angels." Niecy had guest-starring roles on "Monk,"
"CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "Girlfriends,"
"NYPD Blue," "That's So Raven," "One
on One," "Judging Amy" and "Reba."
She made her animated series debut on the Comedy Central
series "Kid Notorious," which was based on the
infamous life of producer Robert Evans.
Niecy's style, humor, and quick wit have garnered her
opportunities for hosting pre-shows and viewing parties
for both the Emmys® and the Oscars®. She has also
made notable appearances on "The Sharon Osbourne
Show," "Celebrity Justice" and VH1's "Big
in '04 Awards."
Recently, Niecy started the production company Next in
Line, which will focus on producing television and feature
film projects. She is also the front person for M.A.V.I.S.
(Mothers Against Violence in Schools), which was founded
by Niecy's mother in 1993, following the tragic death
of her younger brother, Michael Ensley, who was shot and
killed on his high school campus. M.A.V.I.S. aims to inform
the public about the violence children encounter on school
campuses. Niecy works tirelessly as the front person for
this organization, performing in and organizing fund-raising
events.
CEDRIC YARBROUGH (Deputy S. Jones) is a native
of Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he graduated from Minnesota
State University. He cultivated his improv/sketch-comedy
background from Dudley Riggs' Brave New Workshop. His
past credits include "Andy Richter Controls the Universe,"
"Cedric the Entertainer Presents" and "The
Parkers."
Yarbrough guest-starred in the comedy series "Arrested
Development," "The Bernie Mac Show," and
"Bad Girls Guide," and he appeared in the blockbuster
films "Meet the Fockers" and "The 40 Year
Old Virgin." He lends his voice talents to the animated
series, "Boondocks."
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