Spencer Rice
Spencer Rice | |
|---|---|
| Occupation(s) | Actor, director, screenwriter, and producer |
Spencer Rice is a writer, director and performer. He has written projects for both film and television, produced four films and performed stand-up comedy in both the United States and Canada.
Rice was born in Sault Saint Marie and raised in Toronto but spent a lot of time with his mother, who was living in Los Angeles and dating an actor on the television series "Dallas." Rice recalls, "Being on the set was amazing. Victoria Principal gave me a kiss on the cheek and it was at that moment I knew I wanted to work in the entertainment industry."
With seven years of psychoanalysis behind him, Rice played guitar in a The Delta Devils Band and went to York University to study film and television. While in school, he made "Telewhore," a documentary about a phone-sex girl, which was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival, and was sold to Channel Four in Britain. He also directed, wrote and acted in a short film called "Something Anything," which won the prestigious Tele-Fest Award for best comedy.
Rice later teamed with childhood friend Kenny Hotz to direct and produce "It Don't Cost Nothin' to Say Good Morning," a film about a lovable hobo named Shorty Gordie. The film was nominated for best short at the Hot Docs Film Festival. The duo went on to write four more comedy feature scripts and an episode of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" for the Fox Broadcasting Company.
Shortly after writing their first comedy script, they decided to film their attempts to sell it. The result was "Pitch," a feature-length film that documented the duo's hilariously futile attempts to sell their script. The film's highlights include cameos by Roger Ebert, Neil Simon, Al Pacino and many other celebrities. "Pitch" was featured at The Toronto International Film Festival and won the Best Film Award at the Toronto Independent Arts Festival.
Rice and Hotz teamed up again to develop, produce and star in a comedy/reality television pilot "Kenny vs. Spenny" for the USA Network. The first season aired on CBC and is currently on Showcase Television in Canada and GSN in the United States. The show and its format have been sold internationally and, in 2004, was nominated for a Gemini award. After 62 episodes, "Kenny vs. Spenny" premieres a new fourth season on Showcase in Canada and Comedy Central in the United States.
Rice is currently developing a kid's show and has just finished a feature film.
Rice is also the cousin of Degrassi: The Next Generation star Lauren Collins.
References
- Spencer Rice Gets His 15 Minutes of Fame. Sootoday.com, August 9, 2006.
- Interview with The Review (Delaware)
- Barrels of Crude Imported From Canada. New York Times, November 14, 2007.