Chris Diamantopoulos looks very different as Moe in "The Three Stooges." "The Three Stooges" movie hits theaters today (check out my review ), and I had the chance to interview actor , who plays an awesome Moe in the PG-rated film by Peter and Bob Farrelly. Not only was he incredibly charming, but he also sounds like a fun dad. (He and wife , who is a great addition to "How I Met Your Mother" this season, have an 18-month-old son.) And, according to , he was "destined" to play Moe: "He was born four days after the death of Moe Howard (May 4, 1975); he's lived in the same Hollywood apartment building as another of the Stooges, Larry Fine; and filming began on Chris' 36th birthday." L.A. Story: My husband's really obsessed with the Three Stooges ... Chris Diamantopoulos: A man after my own heart. L.A. Story: ... and we were interested in showing our 5-year-old daughter a lot of the sketches. You guys were so spot on, and your Moe was so amazing. What type of preparations did you make for this role?
Chris Diamantopoulos: Thanks for the kind words. I'll start off by telling you that my 18-month-old son is in his high chair with his mom watching "Pop Goes the Easel." They're watching "The Three Stooges." It's a very strange thing, and I don't know how smart an idea it is. but the only thing that puts him in a docile state to eat is if the Stooges are on. He must be remembering past events because he was on set with us when he was 6 months old. But he really loves the Stooges. Preparing for the role was fun. First you work on the voice, you work on the mannerisms, and you find the little idiosyncratic behavior that makes Moe, well, Moe. To me, that's what takes it from an impression to sort of more of a living, breathing thing. In this instance with the Stooges, it was kind of a lifelong endeavor because I'd been such a fan since I was a child. And I really researched and studied them as a kid. It's funny, the things that kids get interested in and become hobbies for kids, whether it's a video game or "Dungeons and Dragons," or, for me, the Stooges, you never really think that all that time spent will ever amount to anything, certainly not in your adult life.
L.A. Story: Regarding the stunts in the film, some of the scenes looked dangerous. Did anyone get hurt? Chris Diamantopoulos: We did, in fact, get hurt. You know, you can't make a movie like "The Three Stooges" and expect that you're not gonna get hurt. We went into it knowing that we wanted to be as authentic as possible, and we knew that the boys back in the day actually did hit each other, especially if it meant, for some reason, the bit wasn't working based on where the camera was and they just had to actually hit each other. We slapped each other and punched each other, and I dislocated my shoulder and I broke a finger. I know Sean (Hayes) scraped up his leg. We fell off a rig. The truth of the matter is we were shooting, for all intents and purposes, an action film that had comedy in it. There was so much action. It was great fun, though, I have to say. L.A. Story: My daughter laughed at all of those parts. It was really funny watching her laugh. Chris Diamantopoulos: OK, that's fabulous.
We had the premiere last weekend, and there were a bunch of kids, probably aged 3 1/2 on up. And the overriding consensus that I seemed to gather from that premiere was, the Stooges are basically the Looney Toons, but with real people. For example, when Bugs Bunny would drop an anvil on Elmer Fudd's head, kids would laugh. And it's because you know that they're cartoons and you know that they're safe and the reaction is funny. With the Stooges, they're real people, but the sound effects keep it all in a safe place. When asked by the moderator how he enjoyed working with the Farrelly Brothers, Diamantopoulos said, "On a personal level, you can't find two nicer guys than Pete and Bob Farrelly. And I'm saying that with all due sincerity -- they're just super conscientious, super sweet, and they treat everybody, from the catering all the way up to the stars, exactly the same way." So are more family-friendly movies in Diamantopoulos' future plans? "From the perspective of a father, I'd love to do more family films," he said.
"But I'd also love to do a David Fincher movie." (Inset image courtesy of Dan's Media Digest)The death of this baby serves as a stark warning to all of us. “I woke up at around 4.30am and saw that Leia-Mai was not breathing and her lips had turned blue.” “I took her out of the swing, gave mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and dialled 999.” “When the paramedics arrived I pleaded with them to get my baby to breathe.” These are the heartbreaking words from a mother who couldn’t save her child. The death of a three-month old girl in UK has reminded us of the dangers facing our infants – some in ways that many of us take for granted to be safe. Last June 12-week old Leia-Mae was given her nighttime bottle and placed in a baby bouncer. She had spent the day shopping with her mother and two siblings for Father’s Day presents. Her exhausted mother fell asleep on the couch. When 24-year old mother, Danielle Jones from Gloucestershire in the UK woke up at 4am her baby daughter Leia-Mai Smith was unresponsive.
The desperate mother-of-three attempted mouth-to-mouth and called paramedics but tragically it was too late. In a statement she said, “It all seemed so unreal, like a bad dream, and I thought I would suddenly wake up and it would all be okay. I love my children dearly and live every day with this pain. She may just have been a baby but she was my baby.” An inquest in the UK into the death of the three-month old came just days after a warning in the The Journal of Pediatrics which found that “sitting devices” like car seats, swings, and bouncers can lead to injury and even death if babies are allowed to sleep in them. Researchers examined the deaths of 47 young children under the age of two, all of which occurred while in a device made for sitting or carrying. Two-thirds of the deaths occurred in car seats, while the rest occurred in slings, swings, bouncers, and strollers. Asphyxiation (positional or strangulation) was the cause of death in 46 cases;
52 percent of the deaths were caused by strangulation from the device’s straps. One of the studies authors, Dr. Batra said “Many parents use sitting or carrying devices, not realizing that there are hazards when they do this.” The study showed that the time from when the infants were last seen alive to when they were discovered ranged from as little as four minutes to up to 11 hours. Dr Batra said that babies should only ever sleep in a crib. He says to never, ever take a car seat out of the car to let your child sleep. It is a frightening study. How many of us have allowed our babies to sleep in car seats or swings, even just for a short nap while we tended to dinner, or helped our older children? The study did make this claim: “It is important to note that an infant in a properly positioned car seat, in a car, with properly attached straps is at little risk from a suffocation injury. However, contrary to popular belief, the restraints and design of infant sitting or carrying devices are not intended for unsupervised sleeping.
What experts need to remember when they sound off about these warning is that mothers shouldering the incredible responsibilities of parenting don’t want to feel like they should be chained to their homes. While on one hand the warnings make us all feel guilty, on the other hand we all want to do the utmost we can to prevent further deaths like that of Leia-Mae. What we need to do is spread the word on how to use swings, bouncers and car seats safely. The authors give us these tips for when you do use swings or car seats: (1) Do not leave children unsupervised (awake or asleep); (2) Never leave children in a car seat with unbuckled or partially buckled straps; (3) Car seats should never be placed on a soft or unstable surface; (4) Infants in bouncers, strollers, and swings may be able to manoeuvre into positions that could compromise their airway; straps on these devices may not prevent infants from getting into hazardous situations; (5) Ensure that infants cannot twist their heads into soft bedding or slump forward in a seat;