Must Be Pop

When Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick of *NSYNC were first announced as guests for Dragon Con 2016, some were confused. ’90s-’00s boy band members? At a sci-fi/fantasy convention? But not me. I was surprised — very pleasantly so — that my favorite vocal group and my favorite convention could (at least partially) coexist in the same timespace, but like any longtime fan of *NSYNC as well as Joey and Chris individually, I know those guys have serious geek cred. This past Labor Day weekend, thousands of Dragon Con attendees were given the opportunity to see that for themselves as the “SY” in *NSYNC appeared in the famous Dragon Con Parade, hosted the Masquerade Costume Contest, and spent time meeting and greeting fans in the Walk of Fame. They also had a hilarious panel Sunday morning, which Jason and I attended. Here, I’ll try to recount some of the great stuff they shared about themselves, their time in *NSYNC, what it was like starring in a Syfy Original Movie with fellow boy banders, their geeky influences, and more.

Grace had only the nicest, most enthusiastic words of praise for his co-stars.  He was genuinely thrilled with the immense talent and stage and screen experience the cast brought to the movie.  He was particularly complimentary to JC Chasez and the part he played not only on screen but behind the scenes in helping to mix the songs used in the movie.  Calling JC the “nicest guy in the world,” he explained that only a guy who was genuinely great and nice could play himself as such a jerk, because it would clearly be untrue. 

http://hollywoodnewssource.com/exclusive-interview-with-topher-grace/#.V1N7aGa1MVY

Grace, however, reveals that he had help on the music front – and tons of it, from JC Chasez, the former NSYNC member who’s making his film debut in Opening Night. Chasez plays, well, himself, and he does it with a self-awareness that’s comical even before he’s uttered a word. So, maybe, though Grace won’t say it straight out, we can thank some of Chasez’s comedic chops to his time spent with Grace – and the other way around, some of Grace’s singing prowess to Chasez.

http://fangirlish.com/topher-grace-talks-opening-night-musical-thats-not-musical/

There’re so many great performances in it! I was excited for everyone to see them. Especially J.C. [Chasez], because he’s playing this dramatic version of himself. For me what was interesting was to see people watching it who don’t like musicals go and then sort of getting tricked into enjoying it.

 Grace and the former boy band member star in the musical comedy that will premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival.    

Ready for some one hit wonders and boy band throwbacks?

Opening Night, a new musical comedy set backstage at a Broadway show, should feature plenty of both.

The film stars Topher Grace as a failed Broadway singer who’s working as a production manager, wrangling an eccentric cast as he attempts to save opening night. Among the cast is former NSYNC member J.C. Chasez, who plays a version of himself.

Chasez, whose character is one of the actors in the play, is willing to poke some fun a his past boy band life, as seen in this new clip from the film, debuting exclusively at The Hollywood Reporter.

In the clip, Grace’s character Nick goes to J.C.’s dressing room backstage where they have a chat about Chasez’s former band member Lance Bass.

“There was another singer in my band who couldn’t relax either. And he was just as good a singer as me and that other guy,“ says Chasez.

“Once Lance had the courage to say, ‘Hey world, I’m as gay as you thought I was,’ everything got better,” he adds.

Taye Diggs, Anne Heche and Paul Scheer also star in the film, which will have its world premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 3. Opening Night, which features musical numbers based on classic one hit wonder songs, is helmed by music video director Isaac Rentz from a script by Gerry De Leon and Greg Lisi.