THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, April 20, 1996 TAG: 9604190068
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E3 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Interview
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 96 lines
YOU COULD call it hoop madness.
It defines the thin line between fans and fanatics.
On the other hand, the three guys who star in ``Celtic Pride'' were busy claiming that the film, after all, is just a comedy.
The movie which opened Friday at local theaters has Dan Aykroyd as a plumber and Daniel Stern as a crazed gym teacher who are avid Boston Celtics fans. When the competing team, the Utah Jazz, win game six of the NBA championship, making it a series tie, the two gung-ho fans end up kidnapping the opposing team's star player, Lewis Scott (played by Damon Wayans).
When the three stars met the press a week ago, they were surprised that many critics found the film had a sad, almost tragic and psychotic layer to it. ``Do you think a story about stalkers or fans who have gone over the edge is funny?'' one critic asked.
On the other side of the ledger, just as many critics seemed to be eager to question the stars on what they felt was an overabundance of broad, mugging humor in the film.
Wayons, who wrote and performed for three seasons on the ``In Living Color'' TV series, countered, ``We were going for the funny - the extreme. If you play it in the middle, it's not safe.''
Wayans went through four months of basketball training to get ready for his role as an egocentric hoop star. ``I played a couple of one-on-one games with Michael Jordan who was also filming a movie,'' Wayans remembered. ``That taught me just how bad I was at basketball. Actually, of our cast, Daniel was the best basketball player - but he can't dribble.''
``I don't need to dribble,'' Stern countered.
Stern made his directorial debut with the hit ``Rookie of the Year'' after starring as the woebegone burglar Marv in the two ``Home Alone'' movies and as Billy Crystal's frustrated pal in the two ``City Slickers'' flick.
The movie, though, is more about the fans than about the game itself - crazed, obsessed fans. These are the people who scream at TV sets. They're with their team all the way. But what happens if all their cheering and praying doesn't turn the tide in their team's favor? Is there a chance that they might go over the edge?
And can movie fans be as scary as sports fans? The three were asked if they had any personal experiences involving obsessive fans.
Aykyroyd quickly remembered a time when he was pulled for speeding in Arkansas.
``This state highway patrolman pulled me over, but then he recognized me - I think from `Saturday Night Live.' He got on his radio and called for all his buddies to come over and see who he had. State troopers came from 50 miles around. They wanted to talk - and get autographs. I was there most of the afternoon - a little afraid to drive off.''
Wayans, who starred in ``Major Payne,'' ``Blankman'' and ``Mo' Money,'' recalled a time in Atlanta.
``I was on the road doing stand-up comedy and this fan invited me over for a home-cooked meal. Tired of hotels, I went along with it. Over a hundred people showed up at his home and demanded that I do impressions of people like Homey the Clown or Handiman or `Men on Film.' I ended up giving a whole performance in someone's living room.''
Stern, on the other hand, recalls that his most obsessive fans are little kids - kids who have seen ``Home Alone'' and think he's the perfect human punching bag. ``They kick me in the shins and then look to see how I react,'' he said. ``They think that nothing would hurt me - just like the guy in those movies.''
Aykroyd is married to Donna Dixon, a former Miss Virginia-USA who was his leading lady in ``Spies Like Us.''
He got an Oscar nomination for ``Driving Miss Daisy.''
``Oscars never go to comics,'' he said. ``Steve Martin should have been nominated for `Roxanne' and what about Dustin Hoffman not winning for `Tootsie?' Serious roles always get the nod.''
He has a serious role, a killer cop, in the upcoming ``Feeling Minnesota.'' He's also starring, with Jack Lemmon and Lily Tomlin, in ``Getting Away With Murder,'' a comedy set for release later this year.
At the moment, though, Aykroyd is more concerned with planning the expansion of his House of Blues restaurants across the country. The House of Blues is the ``in'' place to go in Los Angeles. Soon, he plans to bring a similar nightspot to Myrtle Beach, S.C., with additional versions planned for Las Vegas and Orlando.
Wayans next film, ``The Great White Hype,'' a boxing yarn, will open in a few weeks and will be followed later this year by the action-comedy ``Bulletproof'' in which he'll star with Adam Sandler.
After his success at producing ``Bushwacked'' and directing ``Rookie of the Year,'' Stern is considering all kind of offers behind the cameras as well as in front.
Critics or not, the co-stars, feel ``Celtic Price'' is not so much about obsessive behavior as it is about exaggerated behavior. ``In any case, we should be big in Boston,'' Wayans adds. ILLUSTRATION: HOLLYWOOD PICTURES
Jimmy Flaherty (Dan Akyroyd), left, and Mike O'Hara (Daniel Stern),
right, kidnap Lewis Scott (Damon Wayons) in ``Pride.''
by CNB