showbiz

Getting to know Michael Cera

Posted on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2009
by Andrea Miller - Cineplex Entertainment

Youth in Revolt

Whether you know him best as George Michael Bluth, Paulie Bleeker or 'that guy from Superbad', chances are you know Michael Cera. Or do you?

The hoodie heartthrob, or backpack beau if you prefer, was in town for his latest film Youth in Revolt, screening as part of the Toronto International Film Festival. As the terminally virginal and fiercely intelligent protagonist Nick Twisp, he falls hard for Sheeni Saunders (Portia Doubleday) and is willing to do anything to win her heart - even if that means stealing cars and setting a few fires. Not exactly what you'd expect from the reigning king of mumblecore, right?

Get to know the soft-spoken Brampton, Ont. native a little better with a quick list of some of his favourite things:

Comedians:

"I like Garry Shandling, Woody Allen, Jerry Seinfeld...Christopher Guest, Monty Python - all the obvious ones."

Teen flicks:

"I like Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller - I like John Hughes. More recently, Slumdog Millionaire - that's a teen film, right? And Gregory's Girl - that's a really special one."
And where does he see his film fitting in amongst this beloved canon? "It's hopefully funny and I think it's different because it's about these two kids who are trapped in their circumstances and that's not what too many teen movies are about. And they feel like they need each other to escape their realities."

Youth in Revolt

I carried a watermelon!

Toronto haunts/neighbourhoods:

"I like Saving Grace, the breakfast place and [record store] Sonic Boom. I like the west area of town, west of Spadina, Dundas, College and Queen - that's the area I hang out at."

Music, right now:

Alden Penner, he's Canadian and has a band called Clues. I really like The Beatles, Weezer and Vince Guaraldi."
And Cera reveals, he's a bit of a musician himself, counting both the piano and guitar among his repertoire of instruments, and had a hand with the music for the film. "I had a few cues in this movie, things that I wrote that are in it. I recorded them on my laptop and just sent them to [director] Miguel Arteta and he used them. He's just really like that - if he likes something, he'll use it."


Books:

"There's this book, Balloons are Available, that's just so funny. It was written in the '60s I think, and I just found it and it really made me laugh. And Charles Grodin's autobiography."

So what's next for the comedic Canuck? Having just wrapped the filmed-in-Toronto Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Cera plans to head back to L.A. and take it easy before deciding on another project.

"I'm just taking a moment and seeing what presents itself."

--

Youth in Revolt screens as part of the Toronto International Film Festival, running to September 19.

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    • emmabadame
    • Written at 12:26 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009

    • I LOVE Saving Grace...excellent choice, Mr. Cera :)

      And Georgy's Girl is a fantastic movie that more people must see...

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