The Moth Effect: Sept 3

Bobby Cannavale and Vincent D’Onofrio guest star in final episode of Aussie sketch comedy, The Moth Effect screening today.

Co-creator Jazz Twemlow says the final sketch didn’t come about the same way as most others in the show, which were written first and then cast second.

“We knew Vincent was keen to work with us but we’d already wrapped shooting weeks before and were into post-production. Suddenly we had this opportunity to write towards a revered actor known for conjuring distinct characters. Anyone who doesn’t have “Edgar the Bug” from Men in Black seared into their brain has something wrong with them! We knew a Bond villain would give Vincent a lot of room to play, so we got to brainstorming how we could use a Bond parody to say something the show hadn’t already said,.”

“This really was a case of stars aligning to create a sketch that plays off their insane talents perfectly. Bobby gave us a Bond that’s so true to the character yet is also definitely a sketch comedy version of that archetype. It was amazing being on set watching him elicit his version of Bond that’s a tightrope walk between believable yet also totally daft. We were so lucky,” said Nick Boshier.

Cannavale stars as James Bond opposite D’Onofrio’s arch-villain, “Stavrick Varatanga”. Like much of the show, the sketch explores a contemporary problem through a daft execution of a pop culture reference. Given the name of the show, it was a great send off, as Bond is quite literally distracted by a superficial, “bright shiny thing” which impacts his ability to connect with something more important. It’s this approach that The Moth Effect has explored so successfully to date: big topics tackled in an absurd way.

Friday on Aaazon Prime Video.