‘ NAKED’ AND FROZEN
Wayans loves Chicago, but not our ‘ evil’ winters
Over the years,
MarlonWayans has visited Chicago many times, both performing his stand- up act and doing press for various film and TV projects. However, like many people— even those of us who live in the city full time — Wayans has concluded, “I love Chicago from March to October. Then after that, forget it.
“I hate the cold. Chicago’s cold is like— it’s evil! It’s like something out of ‘ Harry Potter’! Who makes it that cold? I know it’s not practical, but I think everybody should move out of Chicago that time of year. I know I’d be out.”
During a chat to promote his new Netflix film, “Naked” ( streaming beginning Friday), Wayans pointed to the area on his hand between his thumb and forefinger and said, “I get ashy right there when I’m in Chicago during the winter. My skin actually turns ash gray right there — and it stays there the whole time I’m in Chicago until I leave for someplace warmer.”
ButWayans has warmed — so to speak— to other Chicago charms. “Ohmy God! The restaurants, the people are all outstanding. I’mfrom New York, and the closest thing to New York City and all it offers is Chicago.
“Sometimes you run into places where people come off as fake. Chicago people are never like that— at least in my experience. In Chicago when people love you, they let you know. When they don’t like you, they don’t hesitate to let you know that too.”
In “Naked,” a variation on “Groundhog Day” based on a Swedish film, Wayans plays Rob, an immature guy who is about to marry Megan, played by Regina Hall. Nervous about his nuptials, Rob wakes up naked in an elevator— and then is forced to relive, over and over again, the hour before the start of his wedding ceremony, until he gets things right.
Wayans is proud of the fact he has spent the past five years “working hard. … I really enjoyed producing— making movies like ‘ Haunted House,’ ‘ Haunted House 2,’ having my own TV show coming up on NBC [ Aug. 16] named ‘ Marlon,’ plus producing a film like ‘ Naked’ here on Netflix— this is maturity for me, this whole past year or so.”
The performer stressed that his recent goal is to “establish myself as more of a romantic leading man, but still a guy who can be crazy and funny— and also do some things that have some heart. That said, I don’t want to grow up too much. I still want to be a little naughty!”
‘ Hot Date’ films in town
“Hot Date,” the upcoming TV series that married couple Emily Axford and Brian K. Murphy are filming in Chicago this summer, is a case of art imitating life.
Much of the initial inspiration for the show— first an online series for College Humor, and next to be a half- hour show on Pop starting Nov. 8— came “from our own lives and experiences,” Axford said at The Winchester restaurant in Wicker Park.
Yet, her husband was quick to add, “now that we’ve been married for a while— and settled into being domesticated— we are now drawing a bit more on our friends’ stories, way more than from our own.”
In the original sketch videos— which have garnered more than 100 million views online— Axford and Murphy wrote and performed three- minute bits having fun with age- old foibles of the process of dating.
For the expanded TV series, “we did not want to go somewhere like New York or L. A.— cities that have been depicted so much and in so many other shows. When the production people suggested Chicago, it clicked. We wanted someplace that might be a bit more vague for an audience. Plus, there is such a neat tapestry of locations in Chicago,” said Axford.
Along with filming a lot in theWicker Park and Bucktown neighborhoods, “Hot Date” has showcased the Lawry’s restaurant on the Near North Side, in River North, plus spots in Logan Square. The first season will wrap production in Chicago in the middle of August.