NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 15, 2024--
Parade, the premium legacy entertainment and lifestyle brand, released its latest cover story featuring A-list power couple, Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone. For the interview, McCarthy, 54, and Falcone, 51, are sitting dressed as if they’re ready to do battle during medieval times.
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“I’m an owl wizard and she’s a sparkly warrior,” Falcone explains. McCarthy, beaming in a bright silver suit of armor, quickly corrects him: “I’m a disco warrior!”
The costumes have a special purpose. McCarthy and Falcone—married since 2005—wanted to get in the spirit of their latest joint project, a scripted comedy podcast titled Hildy the Barback and the Lake of Fire (which Falcone co-wrote with Steve Mallory). It centers on an epic quest to fight an evil force and is currently the top-rated fiction podcast on Apple.
The couple – who crossed paths as teenagers in their native Illinois and first worked together at The Groundlings comedy troupe in Los Angeles in the late 1980s – wouldn’t have it any other way.
Read the full interview here. Notable quotes are below.
On their spark
“For sure we share a similar sense of humor. We met writing and performing together before we even started dating. We love being on stage together, so that was our initial spark. It delightfully hasn’t changed.” (McCarthy)
On life around the house
“Even when we’re working around the house, Ben and I end up pitching each other projects. We’re always just super-trying to make the other person laugh.” (McCarthy)
On why they’re doing a comedy podcast
“I can't clean up the water. We can't clean up the air. We don't have those skills. But if we can maybe take somebody's mind off of things that are tricky in half-hour segments, we should at least try to do it.” (McCarthy)
On her secret past as a goth
“I'm from a little farm town in Illinois [Plainfield], so to suddenly have, like, crazy black hair and wear kabuki makeup and long capes was so much fun. But I wasn't angry at the world. I loved that you could make yourself into a different person.” (McCarthy)
On how they met, both times
“When Ben and I became friends at The Groundlings, we figured out that we went to the same parties when I was in college and you were in high school. Two weeks later, you were like, ‘I knew who you were.’”
Falcone: “Exactly, because I did. I remembered!”
McCarthy: “I was like, ‘You would not recognize me in a million years.’ And he goes, ‘No, I was afraid of you.’ I was like Robert Smith from The Cure and Bjork had a baby.”
On a quick career change
“I wanted to design women’s clothing. I moved to New York City because I wanted to go to school at FIT [Fashion Institute of Technology]. Then the second night I was here, my friend was like, ‘You're going to do stand-up.’ So, I did a stand-up routine at Stand Up NY. I called my mom and dad the next day and said, ‘'m not going back to school—I'm going to do comedy.’ And strangely, they were like, ‘It’s probably for the best.’” (McCarthy)
On her first big break
“I started as a production assistant, and then I was a production coordinator, and then my last thing was a production manager. Then, three weeks before my 30th birthday, I got Gilmore Girls. It was the first time I would say out loud I was an actor. I was pretty gobsmacked.” (McCarthy)
On which of their movies deserves a sequel
McCarthy: There are a couple that I would have done in a heartbeat.
Falcone: I'm going to start bugging Paul Feig about another Spy because that's a movie that should just happen.
On what they’re thankful for this holiday season
McCarthy: I “I'm thankful for my girls and this fella and my parents and my in-laws and my sister and her kids. I think maybe as you get a little older, you realize just how amazing it is to have everybody.”
Falcone: “I'm thankful for cool cars and cold booze. I’m the biggest jerk in the world! No, I’m thankful for family, friends and health. Having people that you love and knowing they're safe and happy, that's all you can really ask for.”
To view this story, or any of previous Parade cover stories, click here.
About Parade
Parade, the premium legacy entertainment and lifestyle brand, has been enlightening, delighting and inspiring audiences for more than 80 years. Parade is owned and operated by The Arena Group (NYSE American: AREN), an innovative technology platform and media company with a proven cutting-edge playbook that transforms media brands. Arena’s unified technology platform empowers creators and publishers with tools to publish and monetize their content, while also leveraging quality journalism of anchor brands like TheStreet, Parade, Men’s Journal and Athlon Sports to build their businesses. The company aggregates content across a diverse portfolio of brands, reaching over 100 million users monthly. Visit us at thearenagroup.net and discover how we are revolutionizing the world of digital media.
Melissa McCarthy & Ben Falcone Sparkle on Cover of Parade (Photo: Business Wire)
BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — In the nosebleed seats of a nearly-empty Baku Olympic stadium coated with a layer of dust, activists used a giant banner to beam the words “Pay Up” to the world.
The protest took weeks of thought and planning, with activists pitching the location as somewhere bigger and more visually striking. But with the stands being outside the main venue, most of the attendees at this year's U.N. climate talks didn't see or hear it — except for maybe some in the COP29 presidency offices right below. The majority of the people involved in deciding the financial future of climate action at the talks remained in the sprawling venue, under white tarps with no windows.
It’s “really hard to make our demands heard,” said Bianca Castro, a climate activist from Portugal. She’s been to several COPs in the past and remembers years when there were thousands of protestors in the streets, and a multitude of strikes and actions throughout the event. But at the stadium's seats, they were told exactly where and when they could stand and chants were restricted. A United Nations climate change spokesperson said that “actively facilitating an advocacy action of this sort — in a part of the venue that isn’t open to participants .... involved extensive dialogue among the participants, facility managers and health and safety officers.”
Still, Castro said the difficulty of making an impact meant many are "losing hope in the process."
People involved in protests say they have felt a trend in recent years of stricter rules from the United Nations organizers with COPs being held in countries whose governments limit demonstrations and the participation of civil society. And some community spaces for prepping and organizing have had to resort to going underground because of security concerns. But the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change — the body that runs the COPs — says the code of conduct that governs the conferences has not changed, nor has the way it's applied, and COP29 organizers say there's space across the venue for participants to “make their voices heard in line with the UNFCCC code of conduct and Azerbaijan law safely and without interference.”
Despite the challenges and what some see as a depressing mood, activists say it remains a critical time to speak up about the historical and present-day injustices that are in desperate need of money and attention.
It's especially true this year at a COP where the theme is finance, because voices from the Global South play a pivotal role in bringing ambitious demands to the negotiating table, said Rachitaa Gupta, who coordinates a global network of organizations advocating for climate justice. But she said that there have been more and more defamation rules each year that prohibit protestors from calling out specific countries or names.
“We do feel that the restrictions have reached a stage where it’s a constant battle on what we can say,” Gupta said. Activists can’t name specific countries, people or businesses in line with the UNFCCC’s code of conduct.
Meanwhile, across town in a downtown Baku building, activists paint, snip fabric and sculpt with cardboard and papier-mache in a quest for visually compelling symbols of climate action. The art space was once a place of community, where people came to pour their feelings into a creative outlet, said Amalen Sathananthar, coordinator at a collective called the Artivist Network. But now his team keeps the art space private and doesn't reveal its location because of security concerns.
Restrictions, though, can breed creativity among the artists designing the banners, flags and props that demonstrators use during protests. In the absence of naming specific people or countries, or carrying country flags, they instead have to come up with other imagery to get their messages across.
One of this year’s pieces was a larger-than-life snake for an action with the slogan “Weed Out the Snakes,” calling attention for the removal of big polluters and fossil fuel lobbyists at climate talks, something that's been “outrageous,” said Jax Bongon, whose organization is part of the Kick Big Polluters Out coalition. “Would you invite an arsonist to put out the fire?”
It's an issue that's "particularly hard for me as someone from the Philippines,” Bongon added, but called it "really uplifting" to watch the action come together.
Demonstrators hoisted the fire-colored serpent on their shoulders and heads. Together, their hisses filled the tent, bringing the snake to life.
“I think that the only reason people dare to do this is because, one, they're struggling on how to be heard,” said Dani Rupa, one of the artists working in Baku with The Artivist Network. “But, two, that there is like creative support for them to be able to do this.”
The Artivist Network have been doing this for a long time, attending COPs unofficially since the early 2000s and officially since they formalized in 2018. Amalen's seen the multitude of ways protestors have had to argue with host countries and the UNFCCC governing body to get space for activism. But this year, especially, he said it's a struggle — “negotiations within negotiations” that have had him staying up late into the night in talks and on occasion have left him “fuming.”
A spokesperson for UNFCCC said they've “been a recognized global leader in ensuring safe civic spaces at COPs for many years" which normally doesn't happen at other intergovernmental events.
Still, activists feel that only being able to protest within certain areas throughout the venue — when previous years have seen mass street marches in host cities — can be frustrating.
“Every action you now have to fight for desperately," Amalen said. “We fought to get these spaces and we will fight to keep them."
Follow Melina Walling on X at @MelinaWalling. Follow Joshua A. Bickel on X and Instagram.
The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
Shaq Koyok, of Malaysia, from left, Anna Varszegi, of Budapest, Hungary, and Dani Rupa, of Budapest, Hungary, laugh while working on a banner during the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)
Shaq Koyok, of Malaysia, sketches during preparations ahead of a demonstration during the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)
Shaq Koyok, of Malaysia, paints a sign ahead of a demonstration during the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)
Shaq Koyok, of Malaysia, paints a sign ahead of a demonstration during the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)
Anna Varszegi, of Budapest, Hungary, works on preparations for a demonstration during the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)
Dani Rupa, from Budapest, Hungary, paints a snake for a demonstration during the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)
Dani Rupa, from Budapest, Hungary, works on a snake for a demonstration during the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)
Kevin Buckland, front, and other activists participate in a demonstration against fossil fuels called weed out the snakes at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)
Anna Varszegi, of Budapest, Hungary, works on preparations for a demonstration during the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)
Dani Rupa, from Budapest, Hungary, paints a snake for a demonstration during the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)
Kevin Buckland, right, and other activists participate in a demonstration against fossil fuels called weed out the snakes at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)
Activists with signs spell out "pay up" for climate finance in the Baku Olympic Stadium during the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
Activists with signs spell out "pay up" for climate finance in the Baku Olympic Stadium during the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
Kevin Buckland, front, and other activists participate in a demonstration against fossil fuels called weed out the snakes at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)
Activists participate in a demonstration against fossil fuels at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)
Shaq Koyok, of Malaysia, paints a sign ahead of a demonstration during the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)
Anna Varszegi, of Budapest, Hungary, sketches out patterns during preparations for a demonstration during the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)
Dani Rupa, from Budapest, Hungary, paints a snake for a demonstration during the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)
Activists participate in a demonstration against fossil fuels called weed out the snakes at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)
