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www.ambiente.us DECEMBER | DICIEMBRE 2008
RICK AND STEVE SPEAK! SORT OF…
Set in the fictional gay ghetto of South Lahunga Beach,
animated series Rick and Steve: The Happiest Gay
Couple in All the World has been compared to South
Park and The Simpsons.
Following the lives of three gay couples – Rick and
Steve, Chuck and Evan, and Dana and Kirstin –it features
Alan Cummings amongst the voices with music from the
creators of Avenue Q. We chatted with creator, Allan
Brocka.
We were a bit dubious when we first heard the
comparisons but Rick and Steve is laugh out loud funny
and totally spot on. Where did the original idea come
from?
It started in 1999 when I had to make a film for film
school. It was made out of Lego and had all the same
characters as Rick and Steve and the same plot. It
played at Sundance and other film festivals, picking up a cult following. I then pitched it for years as a TV
show till last year a station called Logo, a gay and lesbian channel started by MTV in the States, bought the
show.
Has it been received differently with gay and straight audiences?
Straight people like it but if they watch it, they obviously not homophobic so I don’t get a lot of complaints. I get
a lot of complaints from gay people, which makes me feel like I’m doing something right!
There’s a lot of truth in the characters like all the best satire. Are they based on particular people you know or
more gay archetypes?
It’s a little bit of both. There are bits of people I know but really they’re all aspects of me. So, the sex driven
horny part of me would be Chuck. The sour, sarcastic bit of me would be Dana. They’re bits of me mixed with
people I know and love.
It’s very revealing about gay culture. Were there any stories you wanted to run that were too risqué, even when
delivered by Lego men and women?
Oh my goodness, all we did was throw out stuff I can’t talk about or can’t do. It’s really tough to tone it down to
the point where it is OK. Here we show on basic cable and there are a lot of rules that don’t apply elsewhere.
In Canada they can say ‘fuck’ on TV and I can never say that. But I pushed it as far as I can. The nature of
cartoons in general is that you can say things that are harder to say with people.
What has Lego made of its figure humping and dressing up in leather?
They didn’t say anything until the pilot started making money on the internet and then they got a cease and
desist order as they weren’t very happy with it. I took it down and couldn’t show it again. Interestingly enough,
within the next year they came out with a Lego movie making kit encouraging everyone to make movies to
show on the internet. Since then we’ve been really careful in the design. The characters are meant to feel like
any plastic toy.
I’m sure everyone who watches it will want to know, is there a series two on the way?
I’m actually filming it right now. There are eight episodes and it starts here in November.
Rick and Steve is every Tuesday at 10 PM on LOGO TV.
Visit www.logoonline.com for more info.
Copyright © AXM Magazine & AMBIENTE MAGAZINE. Do not reproduce without citing this source.
RICK AND STEVE SPEAK! SORT OF…
Set in the fictional gay ghetto of South Lahunga Beach,
animated series Rick and Steve: The Happiest Gay
Couple in All the World has been compared to South
Park and The Simpsons.
Following the lives of three gay couples – Rick and
Steve, Chuck and Evan, and Dana and Kirstin –it features
Alan Cummings amongst the voices with music from the
creators of Avenue Q. We chatted with creator, Allan
Brocka.
We were a bit dubious when we first heard the
comparisons but Rick and Steve is laugh out loud funny
and totally spot on. Where did the original idea come
from?
It started in 1999 when I had to make a film for film
school. It was made out of Lego and had all the same
characters as Rick and Steve and the same plot. It
played at Sundance and other film festivals, picking up a cult following. I then pitched it for years as a TV
show till last year a station called Logo, a gay and lesbian channel started by MTV in the States, bought the
show.
Has it been received differently with gay and straight audiences?
Straight people like it but if they watch it, they obviously not homophobic so I don’t get a lot of complaints. I get
a lot of complaints from gay people, which makes me feel like I’m doing something right!
There’s a lot of truth in the characters like all the best satire. Are they based on particular people you know or
more gay archetypes?
It’s a little bit of both. There are bits of people I know but really they’re all aspects of me. So, the sex driven
horny part of me would be Chuck. The sour, sarcastic bit of me would be Dana. They’re bits of me mixed with
people I know and love.
It’s very revealing about gay culture. Were there any stories you wanted to run that were too risqué, even when
delivered by Lego men and women?
Oh my goodness, all we did was throw out stuff I can’t talk about or can’t do. It’s really tough to tone it down to
the point where it is OK. Here we show on basic cable and there are a lot of rules that don’t apply elsewhere.
In Canada they can say ‘fuck’ on TV and I can never say that. But I pushed it as far as I can. The nature of
cartoons in general is that you can say things that are harder to say with people.
What has Lego made of its figure humping and dressing up in leather?
They didn’t say anything until the pilot started making money on the internet and then they got a cease and
desist order as they weren’t very happy with it. I took it down and couldn’t show it again. Interestingly enough,
within the next year they came out with a Lego movie making kit encouraging everyone to make movies to
show on the internet. Since then we’ve been really careful in the design. The characters are meant to feel like
any plastic toy.
I’m sure everyone who watches it will want to know, is there a series two on the way?
I’m actually filming it right now. There are eight episodes and it starts here in November.
Rick and Steve is every Tuesday at 10 PM on LOGO TV.
Visit www.logoonline.com for more info.
Copyright © AXM Magazine & AMBIENTE MAGAZINE. Do not reproduce without citing this source.
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