LOS ANGELES - Former Farragut resident Ben Garant and the rest of the cast of "Reno 911!" got together at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater on Monday night for a charity screening of a porn movie, which spoofed the former Comedy Central series. Garant and his former castmates had nothing to do with the porno, but they liked it so much that they asked the porn producers to edit down the film and let them screen it.
Tom Lennon called the spoof "the highest honor."
All the regular cast members were there except for Mary Birdsong and Wendi McLendon-Covey.
Beforehand, the cast had dinner and talked about the old days. Niecy Nash was looking all fine in her low-cut, tight-fitting dress. She stayed for most of the movie but had to scoot out because she was shooting "The Insider" on Tuesday.
Also at the dinner table was "Reno" director Michael Patrick Jann and his wife, "General Hospital" star Lisa LoCicero. She's terrific as the tough-as-nails Olivia on the soap. We spent a good part of the evening talking, off the record (of course), about the show, actors and interviews.
Garant and fellow "Reno" creators Tom Lennon and Kerri Kenney-Silver provided a lot of narration at the screening. "Reno 911: The XXX Movie" was edited to remove the actual sex scenes. So, instead, the cast improvised their own thoughts on the action. Ian Roberts, Joe Lo Truglio and Carlos Alazraqui provided hilarious one-liners in that "Mystery Science Theater" kind of way.
Nick Swardson, who played perp Terry, was present. I revealed to him that, only days earlier, he turned down my request for an interview. It wasn't personal. He just wasn't in a state to do an interview when I made the request. He was having too much fun.
Cedric Yarbrough helped Nash try to remember trivia about her character for an audience contest that came later in the show. She couldn't remember much herself, but the crowd of nearly 200 knew every minute fact about the show and its characters.
Garant said he and Lennon are working on a return to television. An announcement about the project will be forthcoming. Garant is a graduate of Farragut High School and has gone on to be a prolific Hollywood writer.
n Doc on Dolly. North Carolina brothers Gary and Larry Lane worked the West Hollywood crowd on Monday evening to garner support for their new documentary about Dolly Parton. "Hollywood to Dollywood" chronicles their efforts to meet Parton.
The two finally had their wish granted in April when they attended Dollywood's grand opening. Parton was so impressed with their project that she worked out a deal to use her music in it.
The brothers Lane held an event on Monday night in West Hollywood to promote the movie, which does not have a distribution deal yet. The gathering was accented with drag queens and fans of Parton.
Terry Morrow may be reached at morrowt@knoxville.com or 865-342-6445.
© 2010, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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