COMEDY GROUP'S BALMORAL BORDER PROTECTION UNIT SKIT A YOUTUBE HIT
By Emma Page / The Mosman Daily / October 9, 2013
BALMORAL Beach has a new patrol unit - a crew of pastel-wearing whistle-carrying vigilantes ded icated to "protecting" Mosman's shore borders.
This is the Balmoral Border Protection Unit (BBPU), six crusaders on the lookout for any potential "queue hoppers" entering Mosman's shores.
Before we say any more, let's be clear - it's all in the name of comedy. BBPU is the brainchild of Sydney sketch comedy group I'm With Stupid.
Its members include Mosman resident Hugo Chiarella, Tim Reuben and NIDA graduates Gabrielle Scawthorn, Paige Gardiner, Matthew Backer and Briallen Clarke. The actors recently filmed a three-minute mockumentary web clip, where they play 20-something Balmoral residents who patrol the beach to deter any "unauthorised" arrivals.
"We wanted to create a short, snappy sketch that pushes boundaries and points the finger at people's sensitivities," Mosman's Hugo Chiarella said.
In the clip Mr Backer's character, Rod, explained he uses colour cards (shades of brown) to distinguish between "an asylum seeker or a regular beachgoer".
Scawthorn's character Helen rejected claims she's racist, saying Neutral Bay does the "best cold soba noodle salad this side of the shore."
While the political satire pokes fun at Mosman stereotypes (namely, that the suburb is home to insular, affluent, prudish, Anglo residents) the group's performance aims to poke a bigger stick at Australian attitude to asylum seekers.
Scawthorn said the web clip was filmed during the federal election campaign, when now-elected Prime Minister and Warringah MP Tony Abbott made promises to deter asylum seekers arriving by boat.
"People like to laugh at themselves, they feel comfortable with stereo types," Scawthorn said.
"Which was why Mosman was easy fodder for sketch comedy. We're making fun of what it's like to live in Mosman but we could have set it anywhere in Australia - because it's a comment about broader attitudes."
The mockumentary web clip satirising lower north shore residents attracted 7000 hits on YouTube within a week of going live.
Some viewers hailed it as "hilarious" while others had panned it.
While Chiarella said the group did not wish to be pigeonholed as political satirists and had developed other sketches, he did hint there would be another BBPU instalment.
By Emma Page / The Mosman Daily / October 9, 2013
BALMORAL Beach has a new patrol unit - a crew of pastel-wearing whistle-carrying vigilantes ded icated to "protecting" Mosman's shore borders.
This is the Balmoral Border Protection Unit (BBPU), six crusaders on the lookout for any potential "queue hoppers" entering Mosman's shores.
Before we say any more, let's be clear - it's all in the name of comedy. BBPU is the brainchild of Sydney sketch comedy group I'm With Stupid.
Its members include Mosman resident Hugo Chiarella, Tim Reuben and NIDA graduates Gabrielle Scawthorn, Paige Gardiner, Matthew Backer and Briallen Clarke. The actors recently filmed a three-minute mockumentary web clip, where they play 20-something Balmoral residents who patrol the beach to deter any "unauthorised" arrivals.
"We wanted to create a short, snappy sketch that pushes boundaries and points the finger at people's sensitivities," Mosman's Hugo Chiarella said.
In the clip Mr Backer's character, Rod, explained he uses colour cards (shades of brown) to distinguish between "an asylum seeker or a regular beachgoer".
Scawthorn's character Helen rejected claims she's racist, saying Neutral Bay does the "best cold soba noodle salad this side of the shore."
While the political satire pokes fun at Mosman stereotypes (namely, that the suburb is home to insular, affluent, prudish, Anglo residents) the group's performance aims to poke a bigger stick at Australian attitude to asylum seekers.
Scawthorn said the web clip was filmed during the federal election campaign, when now-elected Prime Minister and Warringah MP Tony Abbott made promises to deter asylum seekers arriving by boat.
"People like to laugh at themselves, they feel comfortable with stereo types," Scawthorn said.
"Which was why Mosman was easy fodder for sketch comedy. We're making fun of what it's like to live in Mosman but we could have set it anywhere in Australia - because it's a comment about broader attitudes."
The mockumentary web clip satirising lower north shore residents attracted 7000 hits on YouTube within a week of going live.
Some viewers hailed it as "hilarious" while others had panned it.
While Chiarella said the group did not wish to be pigeonholed as political satirists and had developed other sketches, he did hint there would be another BBPU instalment.
MMA FAN TELLS ANDERSON SILVA TO 'BREAK A LEG' ON TWITTER...AND THEN IT HAPPENS
By Jordy McElroy / Bleacher Report / December 30, 2013
Claudia Sonnen can finally rest easy in knowing that her son Chael is no longer the most hated man in Brazil. That honor now belongs to Australian actor Tim Reuben, the man who inadvertently jinxed Anderson Silva.
Adopting the old adage in showbiz, Reuben sent a tweet to Silva on Saturday morning encouraging him to "break a leg" in his rematch with Chris Weidman at UFC 168. He even followed up with a clever zing at the end for good measure.
After sending his tweet to Silva, Reuben likely went on with his day excited about the middleweight championship bout that would take place later that night. He had just given Silva his vote of confidence in what was branded as the biggest rematch in UFC history.
Imagine Mr. Reuben’s surprise when Silva actually broke his leg in the fight.
Weidman, who had made preparations during training camp to stop Silva’s leg kicks, checked an incoming kick in the second round with his knee, shattering Silva’s bone in half.
Immediately upon contact, Silva dropped to the canvas like a sack of potatoes clutching at his left leg and screaming in agony.
On Sunday, the UFC released an injury update stating that Silva had broken his left tibia and fibula.
The cruel irony of this unfortunate incident leaves plenty of sympathy for Reuben along with Silva. After reading some of Reuben’s Twitter responses, he may want to consider steering clear of Brazil for a while. Hell, it might be best for him to avoid all MMA events and the South American continent entirely.
Being referred to as the man who jinxed Anderson Silva is definitely not a good look.
By Jordy McElroy / Bleacher Report / December 30, 2013
Claudia Sonnen can finally rest easy in knowing that her son Chael is no longer the most hated man in Brazil. That honor now belongs to Australian actor Tim Reuben, the man who inadvertently jinxed Anderson Silva.
Adopting the old adage in showbiz, Reuben sent a tweet to Silva on Saturday morning encouraging him to "break a leg" in his rematch with Chris Weidman at UFC 168. He even followed up with a clever zing at the end for good measure.
After sending his tweet to Silva, Reuben likely went on with his day excited about the middleweight championship bout that would take place later that night. He had just given Silva his vote of confidence in what was branded as the biggest rematch in UFC history.
Imagine Mr. Reuben’s surprise when Silva actually broke his leg in the fight.
Weidman, who had made preparations during training camp to stop Silva’s leg kicks, checked an incoming kick in the second round with his knee, shattering Silva’s bone in half.
Immediately upon contact, Silva dropped to the canvas like a sack of potatoes clutching at his left leg and screaming in agony.
On Sunday, the UFC released an injury update stating that Silva had broken his left tibia and fibula.
The cruel irony of this unfortunate incident leaves plenty of sympathy for Reuben along with Silva. After reading some of Reuben’s Twitter responses, he may want to consider steering clear of Brazil for a while. Hell, it might be best for him to avoid all MMA events and the South American continent entirely.
Being referred to as the man who jinxed Anderson Silva is definitely not a good look.
HOW I BECAME THE MOST HATED PERSON ON THE INTERNET OVERNIGHT
By Tim Reuben, writing exclusively for JUNKEE.COM / January 6, 2014
“I hope you die.”, “Piece of shit.”, “You’re a wizard.”
My name is Tim Reuben, I’m a Sydney-based actor and comedian and occasional Tweeter, and these are some of the messages, along with thousands of others, that I surprisingly woke up to last Sunday morning. But to be honest, most of them were not of the “you’re a wizard” kind.
READ MORE AT JUNKEE.COM
By Tim Reuben, writing exclusively for JUNKEE.COM / January 6, 2014
“I hope you die.”, “Piece of shit.”, “You’re a wizard.”
My name is Tim Reuben, I’m a Sydney-based actor and comedian and occasional Tweeter, and these are some of the messages, along with thousands of others, that I surprisingly woke up to last Sunday morning. But to be honest, most of them were not of the “you’re a wizard” kind.
READ MORE AT JUNKEE.COM
SYDNEY MAN 'THE INTERNET'S MOST HATED'
NineMSN News / January 7, 2014
A Sydney man who accidentally predicted UFC fighter Anderson Silva’s horrific leg break on Twitter has become the "most hated person on the internet".
Tim Reuben, an actor, comedian and "occasional Tweeter", made a throwaway comment on the social networking site that hours later proved an incredibly unfortunate choice of words.
Writing for the website Junkee, Reuben says he was excited about the UFC fight between Anderson Silva and Chris Weidman on December 29.
The night beforehand he saw a tweet by Brazilian Silva about meeting 90s pop group Boys II Men, and the Sydney comedian decided to reply with some encouraging words for the next day: "Break a leg tomorrow! Hopefully not yours!"
That simple message has now been retweeted almost 17,000 times.
In an incredible coincidence, the following day Silva snapped his leg in half when he kicked his opponent in what has been described as one of the most gruesome injuries seen in the sport.
Reuben said his heart was in his mouth, "not because of my tweet but because an athlete whose career I'd been following for ages had been badly injured and would probably have to retire".
It wasn't until the next day that his innocent tweet had attracted attention and soon he had strangers accusing him of “cursing” Silva.
"F--- you Tim Reuben piece of s---. Kill yourself!" one person said.
"Listen here Tim Reuben from Sydney, Australia. You're getting f----- now you little f-----. RIP TIM," said another.
Others were less aggressive, including one man who described him to "a discount bin Josh Groban".
"There were so many hate tweets coming in by the minute, and some so extreme that I actually started to find the whole thing funny," Reuben said.
Sports website Bleacher Report described Reuben as "the most hated man in Brazil".
"After reading some of Reuben’s Twitter responses, he may want to consider steering clear of Brazil for a while. Hell, it might be best for him to avoid all MMA events and the South American continent entirely," columnist Jordy McElroy wrote.
Reuben says he has taken "a pretty light-hearted approach" to the anger he's faced.
He has since sent a tweet to Justin Bieber wishing him luck for his next album with the hashtag "breakaleg", saying that if he does have a Twitter power then he "may as well use it for good".
NineMSN News / January 7, 2014
A Sydney man who accidentally predicted UFC fighter Anderson Silva’s horrific leg break on Twitter has become the "most hated person on the internet".
Tim Reuben, an actor, comedian and "occasional Tweeter", made a throwaway comment on the social networking site that hours later proved an incredibly unfortunate choice of words.
Writing for the website Junkee, Reuben says he was excited about the UFC fight between Anderson Silva and Chris Weidman on December 29.
The night beforehand he saw a tweet by Brazilian Silva about meeting 90s pop group Boys II Men, and the Sydney comedian decided to reply with some encouraging words for the next day: "Break a leg tomorrow! Hopefully not yours!"
That simple message has now been retweeted almost 17,000 times.
In an incredible coincidence, the following day Silva snapped his leg in half when he kicked his opponent in what has been described as one of the most gruesome injuries seen in the sport.
Reuben said his heart was in his mouth, "not because of my tweet but because an athlete whose career I'd been following for ages had been badly injured and would probably have to retire".
It wasn't until the next day that his innocent tweet had attracted attention and soon he had strangers accusing him of “cursing” Silva.
"F--- you Tim Reuben piece of s---. Kill yourself!" one person said.
"Listen here Tim Reuben from Sydney, Australia. You're getting f----- now you little f-----. RIP TIM," said another.
Others were less aggressive, including one man who described him to "a discount bin Josh Groban".
"There were so many hate tweets coming in by the minute, and some so extreme that I actually started to find the whole thing funny," Reuben said.
Sports website Bleacher Report described Reuben as "the most hated man in Brazil".
"After reading some of Reuben’s Twitter responses, he may want to consider steering clear of Brazil for a while. Hell, it might be best for him to avoid all MMA events and the South American continent entirely," columnist Jordy McElroy wrote.
Reuben says he has taken "a pretty light-hearted approach" to the anger he's faced.
He has since sent a tweet to Justin Bieber wishing him luck for his next album with the hashtag "breakaleg", saying that if he does have a Twitter power then he "may as well use it for good".